(Although total visitation is at an all-time high, visitation has declined on a per capita basis — as some researchers have pointed out — to 21.6 visits per 100 people in the U.S. in 2014 from a peak of 25.8 visits per 100 people in 1995.)
A meaningless statistic. Imagine a doubling in the number of children under the age of (say) 12. The population rockets, but the visitation stays constant.
Sadly, the ability of ‘researchers’, many of whom are working way outside their area of training or expertise, to handle simple statistics is headed downhill so fast it is a worry. They know not, and they know not that they know not – but they damn well ought to be more careful. But they love the attention of the Press.
Cheers