Busch Gardens, Tampa Bay, has announce its inaugural Bier Fest, which will acknowledge the theme park’s history and attract visitors.
Bier Fest will feature local breweries and cuisine. It will take place over the weekends between August 25 and September 16, including Labor Day.
Over the four weekends there will be over 100 beers from 60 different breweries around the world.
Busch Gardens Culinary Senior Leader, Jim Messinger, told the Tampa Bay Business Journal: “Beer has been a part of its roots for such a long time. Tampa Bay has such a strong craft beer culture. Local and traveling guests want an experience and our other festivals such as the food and wine festival have made a great impact.
“We love partnering with local brands. When you talk about these smaller breweries, they aren’t mass producing for us, but by featuring them for a limited time, we are featuring them in ways that will enhance their brands. For the park, we would need breweries such as Yuengling, which is just down the street from us, that can produce a lot.”
Earlier this month, SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. announced signs of recovery as H1 2018 results showed improved attendance, revenue and in-park spending.
During the earnings call, SeaWorld CEO John Reilly said that bringing back free beer may have helped generate more revenue.
“As you can imagine, this has been popular among our guests,” Reilly said.
Attendance at SeaWorld parks is up to 9.64 million guests in the first half of the year. It’s an increase from 8.93 million in the same period last year. The park attributes the increase to new pricing strategies, new marketing and communications initiatives and also the anticipation of new rides and attractions. SeaWorld is set to open a Sesame Place theme park in the US, and a park in Abu Dhabi.
Image Courtesy of Busch Gardens
https://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/news/2018/08/14/busch-gardens-taps-into-its-beer-roots-with-new.html
