Despite making a number of positive moves to redefine itself as a park that cares and one that wants to create memorable experiences, SeaWorld suffered a disappointing first quarter, with CEO Joel Manby saying he expects the trend to continue through the year.

The positive for SeaWorld is the company did increase attendance in its park compared to the same period in 2015 by 2.6 percent - 3.3 million for the quarter. Despite this, the company posted a quarterly loss, of US$84m (€74m, £58m), an increase compared with the year earlier loss of US$43.6m (€38m, £30m).

Under much public pressure, SeaWorld said in March that it would stop breeding orcas and cease its theatrical shows, a dramatic shift but one that won’t be happening quickly as the company has 30 killer whales with a life expectancy as high as 50 years.

"Our March announcement to end all orca breeding and transition our theatrical shows toward more natural orca encounters, as well as our new partnership with the Humane Society of the United States, were transformational decisions that we expect should contribute to an improvement in performance over time, as consumers begin to recognise our continued commitment to providing them experiences that matter," said Joel Manby, who added that 2016 was a “transitional year” for the operator.