No. of Recommendations: 6
“Ticket sales in decline at Kentucky's Ark Encounter at 10-year anniversary
“The Ark first opened in 2016. Former President Jimmy Carter visited it while it was under construction, and thousands of people from around the world flooded to the attraction on opening day.
At the time, Ken Ham, CEO and founder of Answers in Genesis,
wrote online that the Ark Encounter would draw in roughly 1.4 million to 2.2 million people annually. Two years later, in 2018, the Ark Encounter reported selling
842,038 tickets.”
The following year, sales were just under
900,000 tickets.
But since the COVID-19 pandemic, ticket sales have mostly declined.
For instance, the Ark reported
652,352 ticket sales in 2025. That was 12% lower than in 2024 and 15.5% lower than in 2021. This year, the attraction is on track to have its lowest ticket sales since it opened. It sold 309,580 tickets in the first six months, meaning annual ticket sales could be less than
620,000 if that trend continues.
apple.news: Ticket sales in decline at Kentucky's Ark Encounter at 10-year anniversary“The Ark Encounter”, it should be pointed out, was built with (some) direct taxpsyer funds from the state, as well as a 10 year tax abatement, which now ends (unless god himself renews it, I guess.)
I have no expectation that this continuing attendance decline means the people of Kentucky are getting smarter, probably just poorer.
