Top amusement and theme park groups worldwide 2021, by revenue

In 2021, Disney Parks and Resorts was the leading amusement or theme park company worldwide in terms of revenue, reporting a total of almost 17 billion U.S. dollars. OCT Limited – which operates theme parks and similar recreational experiences in China – had the second highest value with roughly 11 billion dollars.

The Walt Disney Company

The U.S. American entertainment giant goes beyond the park business. The Walt Disney Company’s path to global domination began in 1923 when Walt and Roy O. Disney founded Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio in Hollywood, California. Disney quickly became the leader of the animation industry in the United States and, in 1955, Walt Disney opened his first theme park, Disneyland. In 2021, the Walt Disney Company’s media and entertainment segment revenue amounted to over 50 billion U.S. dollars.

Merlin Entertainments and COVID-19

As to be expected from such an industry, the theme and amusement park sector was severely affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The revenue of Merlin Entertainments grew steadily between 2010 and 2019, reaching roughly 1.7 billion British pounds, before crashing to 630 million in 2020. In the following year a partial recovery happened, and the revenue increased to close to 1.3 billion pounds. A similar trend was observed in the number of visitors received by the British company, with a drop from 67 million attendees in 2019 to less than 23 million in 2020.