It’s been almost plain sailing for Seaworld’s new head honcho. The former Carnival Cruise Lines COO, Gus Antorcha has helped the company climb out of murky waters, with what once looked like a sinking ship now starting to turn around several years of financial decline.

Appointed in February 2019, Antorcha has been SeaWorld CEO for just over half-a-year. While he admits there’s still “plenty of work to do” on a number of fronts, he’s confident in the direction the company is heading: “We’ve got an exceptional business model and we’re focused on improving our execution with enhanced marketing and communications initiatives, more effective pricing strategies and the introduction of new compelling rides, attractions and events in every one of our parks every year.”

A key investment area for SeaWorld is Orlando. Major developments in the area include Universal’s Epic Worlds (see p44) and Disney’s new Star Wars lands, both of which are expected to boost visitor numbers to the area significantly in the coming years. Antorcha believes these developments will be of great benefit to SeaWorld, with its offering helping the operator to stand out in a busy market.

“I’m encouraged by investment in Orlando and I think it will drive visitation into the market.” he says. “The amount of capital investment – including what we’re building and what the others are building in Orlando – is going to make the city an even bigger destination for tourism and vacations than it is today.

“We’re a unique value proposition. We have our rollercoasters, our lands such as Sesame Street and our animals. Together, we provide a very compelling differentiated experience for families to come in and spend part of their vacation with us.”

SeaWorld recently reported strong growth in visitor numbers and operating income, reversing a multi-year decline stemming from controversy over captive cetaceans in its parks.

Visitor numbers for the first six months of 2019 were 9.8 million visitors – a 1.7 per cent rise year on year. Company earnings were US$166.1m – a 34 per cent increase over the previous year. The company has set a target of delivering US$475m to US$500m of annual adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation by the end next year.

“We’ll continue to push on the cost lever and it’s very much becoming a way we think about an approach to business,” says Antorcha. “I came from one of the lowest cost operators in the cruise industry. Working with the team here, we’re going to continue to find ways to become more efficient without impacting the guest experience. I’ll be working closely with our in-house teams to make sure that we continue that focus and continue to drive cost out of our business.”

“Sometimes you push a little bit and you make mistake and you pull it back. A lot of what this company has been doing and what I’ve focused on is testing and learning as we go.”