Fewer visitors to the Tokyo Disney Resort in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, following the March 11 disaster resulted in an operating loss of 3 billion yen ($37.56 million) during the April-June period for Oriental Land Co., the operator of the theme park.
Fewer visitors to the Tokyo Disney Resort in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, following the March 11 disaster resulted in an operating loss of 3 billion yen ($37.56 million) during the April-June period for Oriental Land Co., the operator of the theme park.
The company announced its consolidated financial results for the quarter on Aug. 4. The loss was mainly due to an increase in the price of tickets that the company implemented in April, analysts said.
Tokyo Disneyland closed its doors after the Great East Japan Earthquake and did not reopen until April 15. Despite an earlier-than-expected reopening, sales plunged 43 percent to 48.5 billion yen during the period.
It was the company's first operating loss posted in the first quarter since it started releasing quarterly financial results in fiscal 2003.
With the summer holiday season in full swing, visitors were lining up for 130 minutes on Aug. 4 to enter popular attractions, while lines at other rides took only 15 minutes. Some visitors said it was not as crowded as they had expected.
An Oriental Land official said the number of visitors from outside the Tokyo area and those from overseas has not rebounded, which hurt the company's bottom line.
Despite the decrease in visitors, Oriental Land, as initially planned, raised one-day pass tickets for adults by 400 yen to 6,200 yen on April 23.
Because of the dismal business outlook, the company said it will end the Zed circus performance by Cirque Du Soleil by the end of this year.
In an effort to attract more visitors, Oriental Land announcing markdowns in ticket prices in late May. As fixed-term campaigns starting in July, admission fees for children were halved, while one-day tickets for adults aged 45 and over were cut by 700 yen on weekdays. These efforts helped to lift the number of visitors to pre-quake levels in July.
The company also plans to mark the Tokyo DisneySea's 10th anniversary in September. The celebrations were postponed because of the March 11 quake.