Predicting Attendance At Southeastern U.S.A musement Parks Using Accessibility- and Amenity-Based Models

This research examines the extent to which traditional geographic concepts of proximity can explain attendance to amusement parks in the Southeastern United States. Accessibility models were calculated for nineteen parks using both miles and driving times as measures of distance from population centers. Results show only weak relationships between attendance and distance from population. To test whether other factors are more important predictors of attendance, regression analysis was carried out using variables describing amenities and characteristics of the parks. The results show that a high level of explanation for attendance to parks is provided by ticket price, parking cost, the number of years the park has been open, and centrality within the Southeast. Geographic proximity to population does not appear to be important to park attendance.