San Diego will be the first to debut next year a new orca encounter that will replace theatrics with the whales' natural behaviors in the wild. Recent efforts to rehabilitate SeaWorld's image following years of criticism of how it treats its killer whales appears to be paying dividends in San Diego, where sharp revenue dropoffs have started to subside, said CEO Joel Manby. Across its 12 parks, SeaWorld saw 494,000 fewer guests during the start of the crucial summer season, causing attendance to fall 7.6% to 5.98 million visitors. "SeaWorld San Diego has really been at the epicenter of the brand issue, and so while it’s probably a bit too early to call a victory, mission accomplished, at least we appear to be approaching a bottom, which is generally good news." Attendance at SeaWorld Entertainment parks dropped sharply during the second quarter, driven largely by much lower visitation at its Florida locations, while persistent revenue declines in San Diego are starting to slow, the company reported Thursday.

Source: Los Angeles Times August 04, 2016 16:30 UTC