Disney parks chief says online travel ‘inquiries’ are rising

The top executive at the Walt Disney Co.’s worldwide theme-parks division said this afternoon that Disney has begun to see rising traffic on its travel Web sites.

“We recently have seen a lot more lookers on the Internet,” said Jay Rasulo, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, who characterized the Web visits as “inquiries.”

Rasulo said it is unclear whether the growing number of visits online might be an early indicator of a turnaround at Disney’s theme parks and other vacation operations, which have struggled amid the worst recession since the Great Depression. “I don’t know whether that means things are going to improve,” he said.

Still, it is a potentially optimistic sign in what has been a difficult year for both Disney and the broader tourism industry. Operating profit has fallen 28 percent at Disney’s parks division during the first nine months of the company’s fiscal year, as Disney has been forced to use deep discounts to stimulate travel.

Rasulo made the comments while in New York City to unveil details of the Disney Dream, one of two new, 4,000-passenger cruise ships the company is having built in Germany. The Dream is scheduled to begin sailing out of Port Canaveral in January 2011. (The Disney Fantasy will follow in early 2012.)

Disney will begin selling bookings for the Dream on Nov. 9. Rasulo expressed confidence that there will be strong demand.

“Obviously, as a company we are not completely immune from the realities of the economy. But we think there’s going to be an incredible amount of excitement” for the new ship, Rasulo said. “We think that the family cruise market is one that we have just skimmed the surface of.”

The two new ships, along with standalone resorts planned in Hawaii and Washington, D.C., and a relatively young guided-tour business, are part of Disney’s strategy to capture more vacation spending from guests in between their visits to Disney’s signature theme parks.

“People like vacationing with Disney. They like everything we stand for,” Rasulo said. “And we think it’s time to be in more places that families vacation.”