Theme parks and water parks by the numbers: BBM Media Snapshot

Do roller coasters, water slides and snowboarding lead to the need for braces?
By Patti Summerfield
August 9, 2007

Almost one in ten Canadians seem to like the thrills that come with a trip to the amusement park or the chills of hitting the slopes. Apparently, these people are also more likely to visit the dentist for braces.

• 2.7 million (9%) Canadians attended a theme park, water park or water slide two or more times in the past year.

• These amusement park visitors are three times more likely to have wagered money on horse racing in the past year than average Canadians.

• They are also 2.3 times more likely to have played an online or Internet casino game one or more times in the past year than the average Canadian.

• There is a good chance you will find these Canadians at a snow park when they are not at a water park as they are 2.7 times more likely to have regularly participated in snowboarding in the past year and 77% more likely to have participated in downhill skiing than average Canadians.

• Members of this group are three times more likely than average Canadians to have visited a dentist for braces in the past year.

• This active group of Canadians is 70% more likely than average Canadians to spend $100 or more a month on cellular telephones.

• They are also 2.5 times more likely not to not know the name of their local telephone service supplier than average Canadians.

• TV (87%), radio (84%), and Internet (74%) are the top 3 media by yesterday exposure for Canadians who attended a theme park, water park or water slide two or more times in the past year.

• The top three formats by weekly radio reach for this group are News/Talk (25%), Adult Contemporary (25%) and Hot Adult Contemporary (24%).

• Movies (66%), News/Current affairs (45%) and Hockey when in season (44%) are the top three television program types watched in an average week by Canadian amusement park fans.

Source: BBM RTS Canada, Spring 2007, Individuals 12+. The preceding information is from BBM RTS, a syndicated consumer-media survey of over 65,000 Canadians, conducted twice a year by BBM Analytics. For more information contact Andrew Currie of BBM Analytics: acurrie@bbmanalytics.ca.