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Government relief aid helped minimize the financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in the amusement and recreation subsector, 2020

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Released: 2021-12-02

Amusement and recreation industries were impacted by restrictions put in place to limit the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Businesses in these industries reported a combined decrease of 19.9% in their operating revenues to $9.9 billion in 2020. The gross domestic product (chained (2012) dollars) for the amusement and recreation subsector fell by 35.6% in 2020. However, government financial relief measures helped mitigate the decline in operating revenue as 56.2% of businesses surveyed indicated that they received government support.

As a result of the pandemic, 90.8% of respondents indicated that they had to make changes to operating methods. Downsizing business activities (60.9%), reducing labour costs (50.8%), retrofitting the workplace (46.7%) and adopting a contactless business model (41.5%) were some of the measures put in place. Meanwhile, in some provinces, most business activities stopped because of government-mandated closures.

Revenues for fitness centres plunge as sales of recreational and fitness merchandise increase substantially

Revenues in the fitness and recreational sports centres industry declined 23.1% to $3.5 billion in 2020, as government-mandated restrictions forced the closure of fitness centres to limit the spread of COVID-19. Canadians transitioned to home workouts and online gyms—with sales of exercise equipment increasing 42.5% in 2020.

With the change in consumer preferences because of the pandemic and the lingering fear of contracting COVID-19, most industry operators adapted quickly by pivoting to online program offerings. The virtual gym model is expected to continue in 2021, with operators targeting niche markets such as online training for corporate clients and personal online training.

The contraction in operating expenses in 2020 was not as steep (-18.1%) as the drop in operating revenues, leading to a -1.5% operating profit margin, due in part to fixed costs such as rental and leasing, and amortization and depreciation.

Golf industry profit margins at record high despite COVID-19 challenges

Operators of golf courses and country clubs saw their operating revenues fall 3.4% to $2.6 billion in 2020 as government-mandated closures limited operations at the start of the golf season. This decline was moderated by higher sales in later months of the year as Canadians embraced golfing and other outdoor activities during the pandemic. The industry also benefitted from government financial relief and good summer weather. Of the businesses surveyed in the golf industry, 86.2% reported having received financial relief.

The decrease in operating expenses (-12.3%) for this industry was more pronounced than the decrease in operating revenues, resulting in a widening of the profit margin from 0.9% in 2019 to 10.1% in 2020.

Revenues for the ski industry decline in 2020 

In 2020, operating revenue from skiing facilities decreased 12.6% to $1.1 billion as government restrictions limited ski resorts' days of operations and capacity. Operators in British Columbia posted the largest loss (-$128.1 million), followed by operators in Alberta (-$23.2 million) and Quebec (-$14.2 million).

Operating expenses decreased 12.7% to $1.0 billion in 2020, resulting in an operating profit margin of 11.2%.

Operating revenues for amusement parks and arcades decrease to an all-time low

Operating revenue for the amusement parks and arcades industry fell 55.6% to $343.2 million in 2020, as most amusement parks had to close or operate at reduced capacity for a significant part of the year. A decrease in international tourists in 2020 also contributed to the decline. In 2020, the number of foreign travellers to Canada fell 73.2%.

E-commerce represented 21.4% of sales in the industry in 2020, up 3.9 percentage points compared with 2019.

In 2021, industry operators are expected to experience some recovery, as many restrictions related to the pandemic were eased across the country. However, the extent of the recovery will vary across subsectors, as industries had different opening dates and operating conditions.

  Note to readers

Data from 2017, 2018 and 2019 have been revised.

This release covers all industries classified to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) industry group 713 (Amusement, gambling and recreation industries), with the exception of NAICS 7132 (Gambling industries).

Data are collected for the 12-month fiscal period that ends on or between April 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021. This means that some businesses have reported for a year in which the majority of their operations were before the pandemic. As a result, the effects of the pandemic are not fully reflected in this reference year, but will extend into the reference year 2021 estimates.

These and other data related to business and consumer services can be found at the Business and consumer services and culture statistics portal.

Contact information

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).

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