Last year’s Smiler accident at Alton Towers has had a notable impact on European theme park statistics, negatively affecting a “healthy market”, according to AECOM EMEA director, Margreet Papamichael.

With attendance at both Alton Towers and Thorpe Park severely suppressed in the wake of the rollercoaster crash where 16 people were injured when their carriage collided with an empty one – two having to undergo leg amputations – it paints a muddy picture for the overall health of the region, according to Papamichael.

To get a clearer view on how the accident affected the sector, AECOM looked at the average growth of Merlin’s other theme parks, and applied that increase to Alton Towers and Thorpe Park. According to those results, had the Smiler accident not happened the EMEA’s top 20 theme parks would have enjoyed a rise of 4.9 per cent instead of the reported 3.2 per cent in this year’s Themed Index report.

“This not only highlights the impact of this tragic incident but also, most importantly, that there is an underlying picture that is very healthy for the European market as a whole,” Papamichael told Attractions Management.

“Attendance to EMEA’s major theme parks has grown steadily over the course of the decade, predominantly organically rather than through the addition of new parks.

“Europe represents a mature, relatively stable marketplace, but there are some clear winners and losers in the frame.

“The pace of Alton Towers’ recovery is weighing negatively, but we’re still looking on the bright side following two years of growth in the sector, the increased focus on, and proliferation of, smaller attractions concepts, and continued diversification across geographic markets among leading international IP providers and attraction operators.”

Papamichael’s comments are part of the breakdown of the 2015 TEA/AECOM Theme and Museum Index. For the full report, see the latest issue of Attractions Management, available now.