IzzyB
V.I.P. Member
Yes, international travel INTO the US is down and travel of people in the US vacationing international appears to be up. Which when the US is way stronger than other countries this is going to happen. You really want the other countries to also have strong economies because it helps the US in so many areas. Both in goods they buy from the US, but also service industries like travel.Looking at this at a very macro level, I think we're also seeing a demonstration of the limits of positioning a theme park as luxury travel. As the wealth gap widens, these parks will no longer be able to rely on the dollars of the "working class" visitors (or at least those that perceive themselves as working class) that was a backbone of their customer base for years.
And I realize I'm a broken record on this, but the Universal Parks in the United States absolutely rely on international visitors — and they're not coming in the numbers they were before COVID. If you think the economy is broken here (and for many people, it absolutely is!), take a look over at Europe sometime. That, combined with a strong dollar, is absolutely hurting these domestic theme parks.
I don't think Epic is DOA. I think many people will go to Epic and I think MANY middle and upper middle along with Lower Upper visit theme parks. Saying ONLY working class goes is not accurate at all. While it is a chunk I know many many upper/middle or lower/upper that love going to theme parks.So then in theory.....Epic Universe is DOA? I mean many here think it has to do with the middle class and no way in one year things get magically better.
I think if you build something cool enough people will "sadly" go into to debt to come to it.
Have they priced themselves out of working class? Potentially, but it won't mean Epic is DOA.