Attendance at Six Flags fell by 26 percent and revenue slipped by 9 percent in 2022, the first full year the amusement park chain was led by CEO Selim Bassoul.
Bassoul’s initial plan had been to improve the guest experience by raising prices, leading to fewer guests spending more money overall. Average guest spending did increase by 22 percent between 2021 and 2022, with guests spending more both inside Six Flags parks and on admission.
The target attendance for next year is between 25 and 27 million guests — well above the 20.4 million that went through Six Flags turnstiles last year. However, Bassoul signaled on Thursday’s earnings call that he wouldn’t return to old pricing strategies where deals on Six Flags tickets were easy to find.
“Going forward we expect to maintain a simple lineup of single-day and season pass offerings and we expect to use price as a driver of revenue growth over time,” Bassoul said. “We will offer limited promotions from time-to-time in order to drive unit sales, but we will no longer be a heavy discounter.”
After Six Flags announced similar attendance and revenue drops in the third quarter of 2022, the chain made a hard pivot towards adding new rides as quickly as possible. Three new family coasters have been announced since that earnings call, all set to open this year.
Bassoul that said last year, the company’s capital expenditures were “mostly focused on park infrastructure and beautification. Now we’re back to adding new and exciting rides in our parks.”