Econowatch

Econowatch/9″/dt1st/mike2nd By JENNIFER NETHERBY Staff Reporter The much-anticipated opening of “Terminator 2: 3D” at Universal Studios Hollywood has done little to lift the park’s sagging attendance, according to industry watchers. “It’s an exceptional attraction that was quite a success in Florida (since opening in 1996),” said Brad Merriman, vice president of Management Resources, a Tustin-based theme park consulting firm. “But at Hollywood, they have not been able to get quite a bit more attendance from it.” Universal Studios Inc.’s Hollywood park is coming off a slow year, as are all Southern California theme parks. In 1998, the park’s attendance fell to 5.1 million visitors, a 5 percent drop from the previous year, according to Amusement Business magazine, a theme park trade publication. Most Southern California parks struggled in 1998 because of rainy El Ni & #324;o weather and the Asian economic turmoil, which devalued Asian currencies and slowed tourism from Asian countries. Universal officials did not return calls for comment. Statistics on airport passenger traffic and hotel occupancy rates suggest that “overall, tourism to L.A. is growing slowly,” said Jack Kyser, chief economist with the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp. “From what we’re seeing, theme parks haven’t participated.” Parks generally open new attractions each year to give regional tourists, which comprise their biggest customer base, a reason to come back. While Universal invested heavily in its new Terminator attraction, spending an estimated $60 million to $70 million, it hasn’t drawn nearly as many people as Universal’s Jurassic Park ride did when it opened in 1996, Merriman said. Attendance rose 10 percent to 15 percent that year. The 12-minute movie and 3-D special effects show features Arnold Schwarzenegger in a reprisal of his role as a robot from the future. Live actors take part while 3-D images bounce off 50-foot-high screens.