For Floridians, the hits just keep on coming. In its largest wave of job cuts since 2001, the Walt Disney Company has cut over 1900 theme park jobs, with the bulk of the losses occurring at Walt Disney World in Orlando..jpg)
As Central Florida's largest employer, Disney World's declining attendance rates reflect a decrease in tourism around the state. They also serve as a foreboding economic indicator of the global tourism industry as a whole.
Unfortunately, the cuts can't be that much of a surprise to anyone. Theme parks only flourish when families around the world can afford to plan their vacations around Mickey, Donald, and Cinderella.
Disney's supposed to be the place where dreams come true, but as we continue to experience an agonizing global recession that's walloped nearly every industry, fantasy frequently gives way to reality, and this year, it appears even Disney has to scale back.
The company has laid off 1200 employees, and is allowing an additional 700 positions to remain unfilled. Disney's latest layoffs are a sign that the travel industry anticipates a prolonged economic downturn as consumers continue to favor "staycations" over extended stays at fantasy destination resorts.
And declining theme park numbers are only part of the story. Nationally, air travel and hotel business is down more than 10% in 2009. Travel experts speculate that the pressure of record unemployment rates is pressuring those still working to forego their own vacations, and those who do travel are shortening their trips and spending less on meals and amenities while they're away.
Disney's theme parks account for over 25% of its total operating income, and attendance at the domestic parks fell more than 5% in the fourth quarter of 2008. Earlier this year, Disney unveiled new promotional offers for park visitors, including free admission for parkgoers on their birthdays and reduced prices on extended stays, but attendance is still down. Disney parks and resorts employ approximately 80,000 people.
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