- Ardent Leisure Group (ALG) has announced it will reopen Dreamworld and Whitewater World after receiving financial assistance
- Both theme parks will re-open in mid-September but will be capped at 50 per cent capacity
- The Gold Coast parks have been closed for business for months, due to the coronavirus pandemic
- The Queensland Government has now offered almost $70 million in assistance, allowing ALG to re-open the sites
- Shares in Ardent Leisure Group are trading up 11.4 per cent at 38.6 cents per share
Ardent Leisure Group (ALG) has announced it will reopen Dreamworld and Whitewater World after receiving financial assistance from the Queensland Government.
Both Gold Coast theme parks have been shut for months due to COVID-19 restrictions, introduced when the pandemic first began in Australia in March.
The company will receive $69.9 million via the Government’s COVID-19 Industry Support Package and Queensland Tourism Icons Program 2020.
The money will allow ALG to reopen both of the sites in five weeks time, in mid-September.
However, both Dreamworld and Whitewater world will have their total capacity capped at 50 per cent, in order to comply with current coronavirus restrictions.
Speaking on the re-opening, Ardent Leisure Chair Gary Weiss and Theme Parks CEO John Osborne thanked the Government for its support.
“We appreciate the Queensland Government’s strong recognition of the important role that the theme park industry plays in the economic development of Queensland and the broader tourism industry in Australia,” they said.
“The Queensland Government’s foresight in providing this financial assistance package will enable Ardent to reopen its iconic theme parks, continue to employ hundreds of people and, once the COVID-19 pandemic is behind us, continue to invest in future tourism infrastructure and create more local jobs,” they added.
Shares in Ardent Leisure Group are currently trading up 11.4 per cent for 36.8 cents per share at 3.28 pm AEST.