DETROIT, Mich. — Passage event ticketing company in Detroit, which operates the ticketing brand HauntPay for haunted attractions, is announcing the results of its 2023 Haunt Industry Report. The survey includes data from 215 haunted attraction owners in the US and Canada, plus data from HauntPay’s own platform, which includes statistics from more than 1,300 haunted attractions and events. The survey’s results revealed that the number of people visiting haunted attractions is growing, with the majority, 33 percent of haunts, reporting they expect to see between 5,000-10,000 guests this year; last year, the majority of respondents had 1,000-5,000 guests. The survey also found that haunts remain an affordable family-friendly activity, when compared to other types of entertainment: nearly six out of 10 haunts charge $20 or less per person for admission. Guests continued to spend significantly more when purchasing tickets online; in 2022, haunt visitors spent 61 percent more when making a purchase online than they did when buying in person, frequently because they would buy additional merchandise, timed tickets or concessions. This is Passage’s third annual report on the industry, containing more data than the company has ever collected.

“While we found that 66 percent of haunt owners identified their biggest revenue producer as ticket sales last year, we also found that merchandise and gift shops were the biggest earners for 13 percent of haunts,” explained Co-founder and CEO of Passage Alex Linebrink.  “This information is incredibly useful to the industry we serve, as HauntPay offers the opportunity for haunts to increase their revenue stream with convenient merchandise and add-on items at point of sale.”

Another notable find from the survey was that half of haunts were either operated by a nonprofit organization or donated a portion of their proceeds to a nonprofit. Also, half of haunts offered timed ticketing, with 85 percent of those offering a way for guests to pay reduced their time in line through a VIP entrance or skip-the-line pass.

Haunted attractions are growing in popularity and are no longer limited to the season of Halloween. Less than 3 percent of respondents reported their attractions were only open during the fall. Instead, 16.2 percent were open for Krampus/holiday events, 15 percent on Friday the 13^th, 11.2 percent were open for Zombie Prom and 10.9 percent were year-round.

HauntPay 2023 also revealed that, as in so many other industries, staffing issues remained the biggest challenge for 42 percent of haunted attraction owners. Another significant problem was difficulty in promoting haunts, an issue that Passage is addressing by a new integration with Event Vesta, a service which allows haunt owners to promote their attractions by submitting their information to local media directories including newspapers, radio and more.

“We see a need to conduct this annual survey to provide reliable, recent data about the haunt industry, and equally importantly, strive for ways to provide solutions to the challenges business owners in this sector are facing,” added Linebrink.

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