Alton Towers continues to feel impact of last year’s crash

VISITOR numbers at Alton Towers “remain significantly lower” as the impact of last year’s accident on its Smiler ride continues to be felt.

In June 2015 five people were seriously injured, with two women having legs amputated, as a result of the crash.

Although the ride began operating again when the theme park reopened for the 2016 season in March, Alton Towers’ owner Merlin Entertainments is still noticing the effects on visitors.

Merlin’s chief executive officer Nick Varney said: “Visitor volumes at Alton Towers remain significantly lower following the accident in June 2015, with like for like revenue performance for the operating group reflecting the stronger comparative period prior to the accident in 2015.

“Encouragingly, the performance in recent weeks has shown some year on year improvement in mainstream leisure visitation. However, the full year performance is still expected to fall some way short of the 2014 result.”

The resort theme parks division, which includes Alton Towers, saw a 7% decline in revenues in the 26 weeks to June 25.

However the overall group increased revenues by 5%, to £573m, with pre-tax profits fractionally up, at £50m.