The ripple effects of trade disputes between global economic giants like the US and China are being felt in unexpected places, including local amusement parks.
Families seeking affordable summer getaways often choose regional parks over larger destinations like Disney World, favouring the convenience of a drive over costly flights.
However, economic uncertainty fuelled by tariffs could deter these visits altogether.
Park owners face increased costs due to tariffs on imported steel used in ride construction.
Even the prizes and toys won in games often come from China and are subject to tariffs.
Despite these challenges, regional amusement parks have not experienced a downturn so far this year.
“We’ve had good crowds, and everyone seems excited to be here,” said Brian Hartley, vice president of Playland’s Castaway Cove, in Ocean City, New Jersey, which boasts 30 rides, miniature golf, go-karts, and other beachfront attractions. “As long as the weather is good, they’re ready to come down.”
That’s true for park-goer Chris Del Borrello, at Castaway Cove on a bustling June Friday evening with a group of 10 family members, including his four children.
“We come here every year because it’s so fun, and we build memories every single summer,” he said.
Tariffs loom over the summer tourism industry just as leisure travel is expected to finally get back to pre-pandemic levels.
The US Travel Association expects Americans to take 1.96 billion trips this year, up two per cent from 1.92 billion last year. Travel spending is also expected to increase two per cent year over year.
Tariff pressures
As park operators prepared for the 2025 summer last year, President Donald Trump imposed on-again, off-again tariffs against US trade partners that made planning difficult.
For instance, proposed tariffs against China started at 10 per cent in February, rose to 20 per cent in March, ballooned to 145 per cent in April, and were reduced to 30 per cent in May.
On Wednesday, the Trump administration put the number at 55 per cent.
Hartley said he ordered items like stuffed animals for games from China early to beat the tariffs – and benefited from the pause announced in May.
“We loaded up, we’re tripping over stuff at this point,” he said. “We tried to purchase as much stuff as we could to be ready for the season, because that little bit makes a big difference in the bottom line at the end of the day,” he said.
In particular, the park added two new rides this year, but parts were delivered back in the fall.
Not all parks were as fortunate. At Adventureland, in Farmingdale, New York, the steel structure for a new ride, Wave Twister, and some China-made game prizes like plush toys and basketballs were affected by tariff costs, said manager Jeanine Gentile.
“We ordered them months ago before the tariffs were in place, but they typically arrive for delivery at this time of the year, and so obviously the tariffs were in before we received the product,” she said. “We did have to pay additional for those tariffs in order to get the product.”
So far, the park is absorbing the cost – they made the decision not to raise ticket prices this year. But that could change next year.
“We’ve just sort of felt that if we can do this (not raise prices) for Long Island and for our guests, let’s do it, where we can afford it, at least for this season,” said Gentile.
Economic uncertainty
Aside from tariffs, economic uncertainty is the biggest challenge for amusement parks this season.
At Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, which is co-owned by country legend Dolly Parton and Herschend Family Entertainment, Director of Communications Pete Owens said they decided to open a week later in March due to concerns about the economy.
But so far, attendance at the park, nestled in the Great Smoky Mountains, is up four per cent from last year. Attendees are spending but looking for deals.
A promotion giving discount tickets to public employees has proved popular. And Owens is seeing customers purchase tickets for their family closer to their actual visit instead of several days or weeks in advance. Some are even waiting until they’re in the Great Smoky Mountains to decide to buy a ticket.
“I think they’re all still looking very closely to see what value pricing there is or what opportunities there are,” he said.
The same holds true at Silver Dollar City near Branson, Missouri, an 1880s Western-themed park, which draws its visitors from what President Brad Thomas calls “America’s heartland,” an “oval” in the middle of the country, including Minneapolis, Denver and Memphis and Houston, Texas.
“What those families tend to say as they visit us is that they want their families just to escape, even though there’s a lot of concerns in every family’s life, they’re all dealing with time pressure and money pressure and inflation pressure and all kinds of other things,” said Thomas.
He said this year, families coming to the park are sticking to a budget-conscious plan.
“They have carved the money that they’ll spend in their day with us or their days with us,” he said. “They’ve planned that into their budget.”
Back at Castaway Cove, Hartley said that while the season is going well, he worries about the mood of the consumer as economic uncertainty persists. That could affect trip planning later in the summer.
“People that really haven’t already booked a vacation … it may affect, do they come down here for a weekend? Do they not? Do they come for two days instead of four or five days?” he said. “I think people don’t know what the future is going to hold.”
