Pursuit Attractions & Hospitality, Inc.: Form 10-K for the period ended Dec 31, 2023

We are a leading provider of extraordinary experiences, including hospitality and leisure activities, experiential marketing, and live events. Our mission is to drive significant and sustainable growth by delivering extraordinary experiences for our teams, clients, and guests.

We operate through three reportable business segments: Pursuit, Spiro, and GES Exhibitions. Spiro and GES Exhibitions are both live event businesses and are referred to collectively as “GES.”

• Pursuit is a collection of inspiring and unforgettable travel experiences that includes recreational attractions, hotels and lodges, food and beverage, retail, sightseeing, and ground transportation services.
• Spiro is an experiential marketing agency that partners with leading brands around the world to manage and elevate their global experiential marketing activities.
• GES Exhibitions is a global exhibition services company that partners with leading exhibition and conference organizers as a full-service provider of strategic and logistics solutions to manage the complexity of their shows.

Pursuit is a global attractions and hospitality company that owns and operates a collection of inspiring and unforgettable travel experiences in iconic destinations. Pursuit’s mission is to connect guests and staff to iconic places through unforgettable inspiring experiences. From world-class attractions, distinctive hotels, and engaging tours in stunning national parks and renowned global travel locations, Pursuit’s elevated attraction and hospitality experiences enable visitors to discover and connect with these iconic destinations. With a strategic direction to build an expanding portfolio of extraordinary experiences, Pursuit remains focused on refreshing, improving, and growing its collection in outstanding places around the globe. Pursuit draws its guests from major markets, including the United States, Canada, China, the United Kingdom, Australia/New Zealand, Asia Pacific, and Europe. Pursuit markets directly to consumers, as well as through distribution channels that include tour operators, tour wholesalers, destination management companies, and retail travel agencies. Pursuit comprises the following:

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Pursuit’s collection of experiences focuses on three distinct lines of business: Attractions (including food and beverage services and retail operations); Hospitality (including food and beverage services and retail operations); and Transportation.

Attractions

BANFF JASPER COLLECTION

Banff Gondola transports visitors to an elevation of over 7,000 feet above sea level to the top of Sulphur Mountain in Banff, Alberta, Canada offering an unobstructed view of the Canadian Rockies and overlooking the town of Banff and the Bow Valley. The Banff Gondola and the Sky Bistro restaurant, which is located at the top of the Banff Gondola, were 2023 Trip Advisor Travelers Choice award winners.

Lake Minnewanka Cruise provides guests a unique sightseeing experience through interpretive boat cruises on Lake Minnewanka in the Canadian Rockies. The Lake Minnewanka Cruise operations are located adjacent to the town of Banff and include boat tours, small boat rentals, and charter fishing expeditions. The Lake Minnewanka Cruise was a 2023 Trip Advisor Travelers Choice award winner.

Glacier Adventure is a tour of the Athabasca Glacier on the Columbia Icefield, which provides guests a view of one of the largest accumulations of ice and snow south of the Arctic Circle. Guests ride in a giant “Ice Explorer,” a unique vehicle specially designed for glacier travel. The Glacier Adventure was a 2023 Trip Advisor Travelers Choice award winner.

Columbia Icefield Skywalk is a 1,312-foot guided interpretive walkway with a 98-foot glass-floored observation area overlooking the Sunwapta Valley, near our Glacier Adventure attraction in Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada.

Maligne Lake Cruise provides interpretive boat tours at Maligne Lake, the largest lake in Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada. In addition to boat tours, Maligne Lake has a marina and day lodge that offers food and beverage and retail services, an historic chalet complex and boat house that offers canoes, kayaks, and rowboats for rental. The Maligne Lake Cruise was a 2023 Trip Advisor Travelers Choice award winner.

Golden Skybridge is in the mountain town of Golden, British Columbia, which is 90 minutes from Banff. It consists of two suspension bridges that are connected through forested trails. The upper skybridge is 426 feet above the canyon floor while the lower skybridge is 262 feet above the canyon floor. The attraction also includes a zip line, a canyon challenge course, and a mountain coaster. The Golden Skybridge was a 2023 Trip Advisor Travelers Choice award winner.

Open Top Touring is a guided sightseeing tour of Banff with a historic twist. Guests ride in a custom-made, open-topped automobile inspired by local tours from the 1930s. Open Top Touring was a 2023 Trip Advisor Travelers Choice award winner.

ALASKA COLLECTION

Kenai Fjords Tours is a wildlife, whale watching, and glacier cruise, offering guests unforgettable sights of towering glaciers, humpback and grey whales, orcas, arctic birdlife, sea lions, seals, and porpoises in Kenai Fjords National Park. Tours range from a few hours to full days, with some tours including a culinary experience and visit to Fox Island. Kenai Fjords Tours was a 2023 Trip Advisor Travelers Choice award winner.

SKY LAGOON

Sky Lagoon is a 230-foot premium oceanfront geothermal lagoon that is located in Kársnes Harbour, Kópavogur, just minutes from Reykjavik. Sky Lagoon showcases expansive ocean vistas punctuated by awe-inspiring sunsets, Northern Lights, and dark sky views. Sky Lagoon was a 2023 Trip Advisor Travelers Choice award winner.

FLYOVER ATTRACTIONS

FlyOver flight ride attractions provide guests with an exhilarating flying experience over iconic natural wonders, hard to reach locations, and picturesque scenery. Utilizing state-of-the-art ride and audio-visual technology, each FlyOver experience features moving ride vehicles with six degrees of motion and multi-sensory special effects before a spherical screen.

• FlyOver Canada is located along Vancouver’s waterfront in the heart of downtown.
• FlyOver Iceland is located in Reykjavik’s Grandi Harbour District.
• FlyOver Las Vegas is located on Las Vegas Boulevard in Las Vegas, Nevada.
• FlyOver Chicago, located near the front entrance of Chicago’s Navy Pier, is scheduled to open in March 2024.

GLACIER PARK COLLECTION

Glacier Raft Company provides guided river rafting trips in West Glacier, Montana.

Hospitality

Transportation

BANFF JASPER COLLECTION

Transportation operations include sightseeing tours, airport shuttle services, and seasonal charter motorcoach services. The sightseeing services include seasonal half- and full-day tours from Calgary, Banff, Lake Louise, and Jasper, Canada and bring guests to the most scenic areas of Banff, Jasper, and Yoho National Parks. The charter business operates a fleet of luxury motorcoaches, available for groups of any size, for travel throughout the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia during the winter months.

ALASKA COLLECTION

Transportation includes a Denali Backcountry Adventure, which is a unique photo safari tour 92 miles deep into Denali National Park.

Pursuit Seasonality

Pursuit’s peak activity occurs during the summer months. During 2023, 79% of Pursuit’s revenue was earned in the second and third quarters.

Pursuit Competition

Pursuit generally competes based on location, uniqueness of facilities, service, quality, and price. Competition exists both locally and regionally across all three lines of business. The hospitality industry has a large number of competitors and competes for leisure travelers (both individual and tour groups) across the United States and Canada. Pursuit’s competitive advantages are its distinctive attractions, iconic destinations, and strong culture of hospitality and guest services.

Pursuit Growth Strategy

Pursuit’s growth strategy is to become a leading attractions hospitality company through its Refresh, Build, Buy initiatives:

• Refresh. Refreshing our existing assets and processes to optimize the guest and team member experience, market position, and maximize returns;
• Build. Building new assets to create new guest experiences and additional revenue streams with economies of scale and scope; and
• Buy. Buying strategic assets that drive guest experience, economies of scale and scope, and improve financial performance.

We continue to search for opportunities to acquire or to build high return tourism assets in iconic natural and cultural destinations that enjoy perennial demand, bring meaningful scale and market share, and offer cross-selling advantages with a combination of attractions and hotels.

Recent Pursuit Development

• FlyOver Chicago, located near the front entrance of Chicago’s Navy Pier, is scheduled to open in March 2024.

GES is a global, full-service live events company offering a comprehensive range of services to the world’s leading brands and event organizers from the design and production of compelling, immersive live and digital experiences that engage audiences and build brand awareness, through to logistics, including material handling, rigging, electrical, and other on-site event services. GES’ mission is to create the most meaningful and memorable experiences for marketers, organizers, and attendees.

GES has a leading position in the United States, serving every major exhibition market, including Las Vegas, Chicago, and Orlando. Additionally, GES produces events at many of the most active and popular international event destinations and venues in the United Kingdom, Canada, the Middle East, the Netherlands, and Germany.

SPIRO

Spiro is an experiential marketing agency that partners with leading brands around the world to manage and elevate their global experiential marketing activities. Spiro builds immersive experiences with its clients starting with the strategic plan, creating the content and design, and finishing with the delivery and execution. Spiro delivers a broad range of unique and impactful experiences for its clients, including meetings and events, exhibition and program management, environments and permanent installations, brand and product activations, and marketing and measurement.

Spiro Competition

Within brand experiences, Spiro generally competes on the basis of creative design, value, quality, and service offerings. Spiro maintains competitive advantages through its breadth of service offerings, worldwide network of resources, state-of-the-art creative solutions, advanced technology platforms, longstanding reputation for customer service and execution, and financial strength. Most known competitors are privately-held companies that provide limited public information regarding their operations. There is substantial competition from a large number of service providers, however Spiro’s primary competitors are experiential marketing agencies and trade show design-and-build companies.

GES EXHIBITIONS

GES Exhibitions is a global exhibition services company with a legacy spanning over 90 years and teams throughout North America, Europe, and the Middle East. GES Exhibitions partners with leading exhibition and conference organizers as a full-service provider of strategic and logistics solutions to manage the complexity of their shows, including strategy, creative & design, registration & engagement, accommodations, logistics & management, material handling, overhead sign hanging, graphics and other rental and labor services. GES Exhibitions also serves as an in-house or preferred provider of electrical and other event services within event venues, including convention centers and conference hotels.

GES Exhibitions Competition

In the live events industry, GES Exhibitions generally competes across all classes of services and all markets on the basis of discernible differences, value, quality, price, convenience, and service. GES Exhibitions has a competitive advantage through its worldwide network of resources, history of serving as an extension of clients’ teams, experienced and knowledgeable personnel, client focus, creativity, reliable execution, proprietary technology platforms, and financial strength. All known United States competitors and most international competitors are privately held companies that provide limited public information regarding their operations. GES Exhibition’s primary competitor is a privately-held, United States-headquartered company; however, there is substantial competition from a large number of service providers in GES Exhibition’s other service offerings.

GES Seasonality and Show Rotation

GES’ live event activity can vary significantly from quarter to quarter and year to year depending on the frequency and timing of shows. Some shows are not held annually and some shift between quarters. Show rotation refers to shows that occur less frequently than annually, as well as annual shows that shift quarters from one year to the next.

GES Strategic Transformation

Over the past few years, we accelerated our transformation and streamlining efforts at GES to significantly reduce costs and create a lower cost structure focused on servicing GES’ more profitable market segments.

Intellectual Property

Our intellectual property rights (including trademarks, patents, copyrights, registered designs, technology, and know-how) are material to our business.

We own or have the right to use numerous trademarks and patents in many countries. Depending on the country, trademarks remain valid for as long as we use them, or as long as we maintain their registration status. Trademark registrations are generally for renewable, fixed terms. We also have patents for current and potential products. Our patents cover inventions ranging from a modular structure having a load-bearing surface that we use in our event and exhibition services, to a surface-covering installation tool and method that reduces our labor costs and improves worker safety. Our United States issued utility patents extend for 20 years from the patent application filing date, and our United States issued design patents are currently granted for 14 years from the grant date. We also have an extensive design library. Many of the designs have copyright protection and we have also registered many of the copyrights. In the United States, copyright protection is for 95 years from the date of publication or 120 years from creation, whichever is shorter. While we believe that certain of our patents, trademarks, and copyrights have substantial value, we do not believe the loss of any one of them would have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations.

Our Trademarks

Our United States registered trademarks and trademarks pending registration include Global Experience Specialists & design®, Spiro, GES®, Viad ®, GES Servicenter®, GES National Servicenter®, GES Connect®, GES Exhibit Ready®, GES Measurement & Insight®, GES Project Central,Trade Show Rigging TSR®, TSE Trade Show Electrical & design®, Earth Explorers®, Compass Direct®, ethnoMetrics®, FLYOVER® & design, FLYOVER Canada & design®, FLYOVER Iceland & design®, FLYOVER LAS VEGAS®, ONPEAK®, Above Banff®, , Kenai Fjords Wilderness Lodge® & design, Explore Rockies®, Denali Backcountry Adventure®, Denali Backcountry Lodge®, and Denali Cabins & design®

We also own or have the right to use many registered trademarks and trademarks pending registration outside of the United States, including GES®, Spiro®, ShowTech®, Visit®, Visit by GES®, Brewster Inc. & design®, Brewster Attractions Explore & design®, Brewster Hospitality Refresh & design®, Glacier Skywalk®, Above Banff®, Banff Gondola®, Explore Rockies®, FLYOVER & design®, FLYOVER ICELAND & design, FLYOVER Canada & design, Forest Park Hotel®, Mount Royal, GES Event Intelligence AG®, Pursuit®, by Pursuit®, Kaffi Grandi, Ský Lagoon®, Soaring Over Canada®, Elk + Avenue Hotel®, Brewster Epic Summer Pass®, and escape.connect.refresh.explore®.

Government Regulation and Compliance

The principal rules and regulations affecting our day-to-day business relate to our employees (such as regulations implemented by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, equal employment opportunity laws, guidelines implemented pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act, and general federal and state employment laws), unionized labor (such as guidelines imposed by the National Labor Relations Act), United States and Canadian regulations relating to national parks (such as regulations established by Parks Canada, the United States Department of the Interior, and the United States National Park Service), United States and Canadian regulations relating to boating (such as regulations implemented by the United States Coast Guard and Canadian Coast Guard and state boating laws), transportation (such as regulations promulgated by the United States Department of Transportation and its state counterparts), and consumer and employee privacy regulations implemented by agencies in the jurisdictions where we operate.

Our current and former businesses are subject to federal and state environmental regulations. Compliance with these provisions, and environmental stewardship generally, is key to our ongoing operations. To date, these provisions have not had, and we do not expect them to have, a material effect on our results of current and discontinued operations.

On July 18, 2020, an off-road Ice Explorer operated by our Pursuit business was involved in an accident while enroute to the Athabasca Glacier, resulting in three fatalities and multiple other serious injuries. We immediately reported the accident to our relevant insurance carriers, who have supported our investigation and subsequent claims relating to the accident. In May 2023, we resolved charges from the Canadian office of Occupational Health and Safety in relation to this accident, resulting in fines and related payments in an aggregate amount of $0.5 million Canadian dollars (approximately $0.3 million U.S. dollars). We continue to manage our legal defense of various claims from the victims and their families. In addition, we believe that our reserves and, subject to customary deductibles, our insurance coverage is sufficient to cover potential claims related to this accident.

Human Capital

Our people drive our success. We foster a culture that is equitable and inclusive, celebrates our talent, and prioritizes the safety and wellness of our teams, clients, and guests. We are committed to cultivating an environment where people of all different backgrounds feel a sense of belonging and contribute to our continued success.

We had the following number of employees as of December 31, 2023:

(1) Includes 722 employees covered by collective bargaining agreements and excludes seasonal or temporary employees. The employees covered by collective bargaining agreements are largely used to staff GES’ shows, events, and production facilities pursuant to business demands. The transportation teams at Pursuit’s Banff Jasper Collection are covered by collective bargaining agreements, as well as the majority of our Iceland workforce. We believe that relations with our employees are good and that collective bargaining agreements expiring in 2024 will be renegotiated in the ordinary course of business without adverse effects on our operations.

GES hires temporary employees on a show-by-show basis. The number of temporary employees fluctuates depending on the size and location of the exhibition or event. Pursuit hires approximately 2,000 seasonal employees during the peak summer months to help operate its attractions and hospitality properties.

We are governed by a Board of Directors comprising eight non-employee directors and one employee director, and we have an executive management team with seven executive officers.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion

We take pride in our diverse community. We believe diversity and gender equality are critical to building a thriving workplace. We strive to create an environment where people of all different backgrounds feel a sense of belonging and contribute to our continued success. To make our workplace as inclusive and safe as possible, we have diversity and inclusion training integrated into our Always Honest Compliance and Ethics Program.

We do not discriminate against employees or applicants based on race, color, age, disability, ethnicity, citizenship, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, genetics or genetic information, or any other categories protected by applicable law. We are committed to equal opportunity in all of our employment activities, including, but not limited to, recruitment, hiring, compensation, determination of benefits, training, promotion, and discipline. We also provide reasonable accommodations to disabled persons, so all employees can achieve success in the workplace.

As a devoted steward to our communities, we are committed to increasing the diversity of our workforce to better reflect the communities in which we operate. We have undertaken initiatives, which go beyond legal compliance, to recruit from diverse audiences, such as minorities, women, and veterans. These efforts include leveraging inclusive job-posting sites and sharing job postings with community partners.

As part of our commitment to developing our employees and furthering their professional growth, we have programs in place including GES’ Business Development Mentor Program and newly launched training platforms for people leaders, including “Spiro.You” at Spiro, “Sales Leadership Program” at GES Exhibitions, and “Leaders’ Journey” at Pursuit. These programs connect employees with leaders within our organization and are designed to accelerate their career trajectory.

Our emphasis on a positive employee experience permeates throughout the organization and helps drive our success. For example, we conduct periodic employee engagement surveys to help us understand, recognize, and respect the diversity within our team. These surveys help shape our training and development plans to ensure we are maintaining an inclusive culture by engaging, developing, and retaining our talented team members across the globe.

We believe that diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DEI”) is an ongoing journey, and we are proud of our DEI achievements so far, yet also cognizant of the work we still have ahead.

We take pride in the diverse and talented group of people that make up our Board of Directors, executive management, and employees. We understand the value that a diverse workforce of varying genders, ethnicity, background, and experience brings to the Company and we are focused on improving diversity at all levels.

An important part of our work and how we will ensure continual progress is by monitoring our diversity metrics. Out of a total of eight non-employee Board members, two are minorities of which one is a female for a total of three females on the Board. In 2023, almost 50% of our overall global workforce was female.

Workplace safety

The safety and well-being of team members, clients, and guests is a leading core value. We believe that maintaining strong standards of health and safety improves employee productivity and operational efficiency and enhances employee well-being.

We have a responsibility to maintain a safe and healthy work environment. We take prompt action to correct unsafe or hazardous conditions; we promptly report work-related accidents and injuries in accordance with established procedures and applicable laws; we strive to follow all established work rules related to safety; and we educate our workers to ensure they understand the risks, know how to handle hazardous products safely, and are familiar with available information for all hazardous materials used.

Both Pursuit and GES have implemented business-specific programs that support our commitment to the safety and well-being of our team members, clients, and guests.

Pursuit’s Safety Promise is our commitment to the safety and well-being of our guests and staff. Through this program, we ensure that everyone feels safe when visiting or working at our experiences and that these places can continue to make a positive impact.

GES’ Always On Health and Safety Program was designed by our safety team to protect our employees, customers, partners, and event attendees. GES employees are committed to adhering to all local government and facility requirements and those established in conjunction with our partners and clients. Safe, reliable delivery of events is one of our most significant responsibilities.

In 2023, Viad had a global reportable incident rate of 1.2, which is below the U.S. industry standard average rate of 2.7. Global reportable incident rate is defined as employee incidents reportable in the operating jurisdiction. It is calculated as reportable incidents divided by payroll hours, multiplied by 200,000 to normalize the results. The overall industry average of incidence rates of non-fatal occupational injuries and illnesses for all industries including private, state, and local government, provided by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 2022. Published data lags one calendar year. We continue to strive toward our goal of zero reportable incidents.

Always honest compliance and ethics program

We believe that maintaining a culture of high ethical standards gives us a distinct advantage in recruiting and retaining top talent, delivering the best experience for our customers, and attracting shareholders. Our Always Honest Compliance and Ethics Program, with the full support of our Board of Directors, has guided us since 1994 to translate integrity into our everyday behavior and actions. The Always Honest Compliance and Ethics Program guides our employees to act honestly, ethically, and always in compliance with the law.

Community involvement

Giving back to the community is very important to us. We are committed to making a positive impact within the communities we serve through educational programs such as GES’ Exhibition Sponsorships, volunteer services, and environmental/economic sustainable efforts in the community. Many of our locations pull together to volunteer and support local and national organizations. The Banff Jasper Collection was awarded the 2022 Corporate Citizen of the Year in Jasper, Alberta in recognition of its community building efforts. Pursuit also supported an exchange of learning and renewed its dedication to reconciliation with local Indigenous communities through a variety of initiatives and programs.

Rewards and performance management

Beyond a competitive salary, we offer a range of healthcare benefits to full-time employees, their spouses, and dependents. We encourage our employees to grow professionally with ongoing training and internal career opportunities. We utilize a performance review process, which aligns our core competencies to our core values, and a performance management cycle, which provides a framework designed to maximize performance and cultivate talent. Short- and long-term incentive compensation for senior managers and executives is based on the Company’s performance and/or stock performance.

Available Information

We were incorporated in Delaware in 1991. Our common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “VVI.”

Our website address is www.viad.com (http://www.viad.com). All of our Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filings, including our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports, are available free of charge on our website as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file that material with, or furnish it to, the SEC. The information contained on our website is neither a part of, nor incorporated by reference into, this 2023 Form 10-K.

Our operations and financial results are subject to known and unknown risks. As a result, past financial performance and historical trends may not be reliable indicators of our future performance.

Macroeconomic Risks

We are vulnerable to deterioration in general economic conditions. Our business is particularly sensitive to fluctuations in general economic conditions in the United States and other global markets in which we operate. A decline in global or regional economic conditions, or consumers’ fears that economic conditions will decline, whether due to inflation, elevated interest rates, or other economic, pandemic or geopolitical uncertainties could cause declining consumer or corporate spending, travel disruptions, unemployment, fluctuations in stock markets and interest rates, contraction of credit availability, or other dynamic factors generally affecting economic conditions. For example, high inflation and the resulting rise in interest rates have increased our interest expense on our variable rate debt. The additional impacts of these macroeconomic developments on our operations cannot be predicted with certainty. The success of our GES business largely depends on the number of exhibitions or other live events held, exhibitor presence and attendee volume at those events, the size of marketing expenditures at those events, and on the strength of particular industries that support those events. The number and size of live events and related marketing expenditures generally decrease when the economy weakens. We also could suffer from reduced spending for our services because many live event marketing budgets are partly discretionary and are frequently among the first expenditures reduced when economic conditions deteriorate. In addition, revenue from our Pursuit operations depends largely on the amount of disposable income that consumers have available for travel and vacations, which decreases during periods of weak general economic conditions. As a result, any deterioration in general economic conditions could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Travel industry disruptions, particularly those affecting the hotel and airline industries, could adversely affect our business. Our business depends largely on the ability and willingness of people, whether exhibitors, event attendees, tourists, or others, to travel. Factors adversely affecting the travel industry, and particularly the airline and hotel industries, generally also adversely affect our business and results of operations. Factors that could adversely affect the travel industry include high or rising fuel prices, levels of consumer discretionary or corporate marketing spendings, international political instability and hostilities, acts of terrorism, weather conditions, health epidemics, pandemics and endemics, and airline accidents. For example, our business, operations and financial results were negatively impacted by dramatically reduced travel, demand for travel-related services, and live event experiences resulting from lockdowns and other restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. A decline in travel-related consumer discretionary or corporate marketing spend, or the occurrence of other pandemic or geopolitical events or hostilities that affect the availability and pricing of air travel and accommodations, could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Our overall level of indebtedness, as well as our financial covenants under our revolving credit facility, could limit our operational and financial flexibility and make us more vulnerable to adverse economic conditions. As of December 31, 2023, our debt totaled $462.1 million, including $378 million outstanding on our $500 million credit facility (the “2021 Credit Facility”), financing lease obligations of $63.9 million, and $20.2 million in other debt. The 2021 Credit Facility includes a term loan (“Term Loan B”) with an outstanding balance of $321 million as of December 31, 2023 and a $170 million revolving credit facility (“Revolving Credit Facility”). As of December 31, 2023, capacity remaining under the Revolving Credit Facility was $108.0 million. As a result of our indebtedness, we are required to make interest and principal payments on our borrowings, which are significant. These payments reduce our cash available, which could limit our ability to respond to market conditions or take advantage of potential acquisitions and strategic investments. To manage our exposure to interest rate movements, we entered into an interest rate cap agreement that provides an interest rate hedge on $300 million of borrowings for a two-year period, which commenced on January 31, 2023. We also we entered into an amendment to the 2021 Credit Facility on October 6, 2023, which among other things, increased the principal amount of the revolving credit facility by $70 million, bringing the total amount of revolving capacity to $170 million. In connection with the amendment, we prepaid $70 million of the outstanding balance on our existing Term Loan B.

In addition, our ability to draw on our revolving credit facility depends on our ability to meet certain financial covenants. This exposes us to various risks, uncertainties, and events beyond our control, including but not limited to the impact of adverse economic conditions (including inflation, rising interest rates, or a recession), public health crises, and other factors described herein. If we are unable to maintain compliance with these covenants, our lenders may exercise remedies against us, including the acceleration of any outstanding indebtedness on our revolving credit facility. Under this circumstance, we might not have sufficient funds or other resources to satisfy all of our obligations, which could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Transportation disruptions and increases in transportation costs could adversely affect our business and results of operations. GES relies on independent transportation carriers to send materials and exhibits to and from exhibitions, warehouses, and customer facilities. If our customers and suppliers are unable to secure the services of those independent transportation carriers at favorable rates, it could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations. In addition, disruption of transportation services, including import/export services due to weather-related problems; labor strikes; lockouts; or other events could adversely affect our ability to supply services to customers and could cause the cancellation or curtailment of exhibitions, which could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Natural disasters, weather conditions, accidents, and other catastrophic events could negatively affect our business. The occurrence of catastrophic events ranging from natural disasters (such as hurricanes, fires, floods, volcanoes, and earthquakes), acts of war or terrorism, accidents involving our travel offerings or experiences, the effects of climate change, including any impact of global warming, or the prospect of these events could disrupt our business. Changes in climates may increase the frequency and intensity of adverse weather patterns and make certain destinations less desirable.

Such catastrophic events have had, and could in the future have, an adverse impact on Pursuit, which is heavily dependent on the ability and willingness of its guests to travel and/or visit our attractions. Pursuit guests tend to delay or postpone vacations if natural conditions differ from those that typically prevail at competing lodges, resorts, and attractions, and catastrophic events and heightened travel security measures instituted in response to such events could impede the guests’ ability to travel, and interrupt our business operations, including damaging our properties. For example, the accident on July 18, 2020, at Pursuit’s Glacier Adventure attraction, which involved one of our off-road Ice Explorers and resulted in three fatalities and other serious injuries, may have a negative impact on our reputation and traveler willingness to visit that attraction in the future.

Such catastrophic events could also have a negative impact on GES, causing a cancellation or relocation of exhibitions and other events held in public venues or disrupt the services we provide to our customers at convention centers, exhibition halls, hotels, and other public venues. Such events could also have a negative impact on GES’ production facilities, preventing us from timely completing exhibit fabrication and other projects for customers. In addition, unfavorable media attention, or negative publicity, in the wake of any catastrophic event or accident could damage our reputation or reduce the demand for our services. If the conditions arising from such events persist or worsen, they could materially and adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

Strategic, Business, and Operational Risks

The seasonality of our business makes us particularly sensitive to adverse events during peak periods. The peak activity for our Pursuit business is during the summer months, as the vast majority of Pursuit’s revenue is earned in the second and third quarters. Our GES exhibition and event activity varies significantly because it is based on the frequency and timing of shows, many of which are not held each year, and which may shift between quarters. If adverse events or conditions occur during these peak periods, for example natural disasters such as hurricanes, volcanoes, forest fires and/or smoke resulting from those events or a similar event, our results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

New capital projects may not be commercially successful. From time to time, we pursue capital projects in order to enhance and expand our business, such as FlyOver, which includes FlyOver Canada in Vancouver, FlyOver Iceland, FlyOver Las Vegas, and the current development of FlyOver Chicago and FlyOver Canada Toronto, as well as other efforts to upgrade and update some of our Pursuit offerings. Capital projects are subject to a number of risks, including the failure to achieve established financial and strategic goals. For example, our FlyOver attractions are all considered one reporting unit and goodwill is assigned to, and tested at, the reporting unit level. Significant reductions in FlyOver’s expected future revenue, operating income, or cash flow forecasts and projections, or changes in macroeconomic facts and circumstances, particularly high inflation and the resulting rise in interest rates, may result in impairment charges in the future. Capital projects are also subject to unanticipated delays and cost overruns as well as additional project-specific risks. For example, we had to postpone FlyOver Canada Toronto due to permitting and other related delays. A prolonged delay in a capital project, or our failure to accurately predict the revenue or profit that will be generated from a project, could prevent it from performing in accordance with our commercial expectations and could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

We operate in a highly competitive and dynamic industry. Competition in the live events markets is driven by price and service quality, among other factors. To the extent competitors seek to gain or retain market presence through aggressive underpricing strategies, we may be required to lower our prices and rates to avoid the loss of related business. Moreover, customer consolidations and other actions within the industry have caused downward pricing pressure for our products and services and could affect our ability to negotiate favorable terms with our customers. If we are unable to anticipate and respond as effectively as our competitors to changing business conditions, including new technologies and business models, we could lose market share. Our inability to meet the challenges presented by the competitive and dynamic environment of our industry could materially and adversely affect our results of operations.

We depend on our large exhibition event clients to renew their service contracts and on our exclusive right to provide those services. GES has a number of large exhibition event organizers and large customer accounts. If any of these large clients do not renew their service contracts, our results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

Moreover, when event organizers hire GES as the official services contractor, they usually also grant GES an exclusive right to perform material handling, electrical, rigging, and other services at the exhibition facility. However, some exhibition facilities have taken certain steps to in-source certain event services (either by performing the services themselves or by hiring a separate service provider) as a result of conditions generally affecting their industry, such as an increased supply of or reduced demand for exhibition space. If exhibition facilities choose to in-source certain event services, GES will lose the ability to provide certain event services, and our results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

Show rotation affects our profitability and makes comparisons between periods difficult. GES results are largely dependent upon the frequency, timing, and location of exhibitions and events. Some large exhibitions are not held annually (they may be held once every two, three, or four years) or may be held at different times of the year from when they were previously held. In addition, the same exhibition may change locations from year to year resulting in lower margins if the exhibition shifts to a higher-cost location. Any of these factors could cause our results of operations to fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter or from year to year, making periodic comparisons difficult.

Completed acquisitions may not perform as anticipated or be integrated as planned. We regularly evaluate and pursue opportunities to acquire businesses that complement, enhance, or expand our current business, or offer growth opportunities. Our acquired businesses might not meet our financial and non-financial expectations or yield anticipated benefits. Our success depends, in part, on our ability to conform controls, policies and procedures, and business cultures; consolidate and streamline operations and infrastructures; identify and eliminate redundant and underperforming operations and assets; manage inefficiencies associated with the integration of operations; and retain the acquired business’s key personnel and customers. Moreover, our acquisition activity may subject us to new regulatory requirements, distract our senior management and employees, and expose us to unknown liabilities or contingencies that we may fail to identify prior to closing. If we are forced to make changes to our business strategy or if external conditions adversely affect our business operations, such as unfavorable macroeconomic conditions (particularly high inflation and the resulting rise in interest rates), it may be difficult for us to accurately forecast revenue, operating income, or cash flow, and we may be required to record impairment charges in the future. Additionally, we may borrow funds to finance strategic acquisitions. Debt leverage resulting from future acquisitions would reduce our debt capacity, increase our interest expense, and limit our ability to capitalize on future business opportunities. Such borrowings may also be subject to fluctuations in interest rates. Any of these risks could materially and adversely affect our business, product and service sales, financial condition, and results of operations.

We are subject to currency exchange rate fluctuations. We have operations outside of the United States primarily in Canada, the United Kingdom, Iceland, the Netherlands, the Middle East, and Germany. During 2023, our international operations accounted for approximately 44% of our consolidated revenue and 89% of our segment operating income. Consequently, a significant portion of our business is exposed to currency exchange rate fluctuations. We do not currently hedge equity risk arising from the translation of non-United States denominated assets and liabilities. Our financial results and capital ratios are sensitive to movements in currency exchange rates because a large portion of our assets, liabilities, revenue, and expenses must be translated into U.S. dollars for reporting purposes. The unrealized gains or losses resulting from the currency translation are included as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) in our Consolidated Balance Sheets. We also have certain loans and leases in currencies other than the entity’s functional currency, which results in gains or losses as exchange rates fluctuate. As a result, significant fluctuations in currency exchange rates could result in material changes to our results of operations and the net equity position we report in our Consolidated Financial Statements.

Liabilities relating to prior and discontinued operations may adversely affect our results of operations. We and our predecessors have a corporate history spanning decades and involving diverse businesses. Some of those businesses owned properties and used raw materials that have been, and may continue to be, subject to litigation. Moreover, some of the raw materials used and the waste produced by those businesses have been and are the subject of United States federal and state environmental regulations, including laws enacted under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, or its state law counterparts. In addition, we may incur other liabilities resulting from indemnification claims involving previously sold properties and subsidiaries, or obligations under defined benefit plans or other employee plans, as well as claims from past operations of predecessors or their subsidiaries. Although we believe we have adequate reserves and sufficient insurance coverage to cover those potential liabilities, future events or proceedings could render our reserves or insurance protections inadequate, any of which could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Our insurance coverage may not be adequate to cover all possible losses that we could suffer, and our insurance costs may increase. Although we carry liability insurance to cover possible incidents, there can be no assurance that our insurance coverage will be sufficient to cover the full extent of all losses or liabilities, that we will be able to obtain coverage at commercially reasonable rates, or that we will be able to obtain adequate coverage should a catastrophic incident occur at our attractions or hospitality properties. We may be sued for substantial damages in the event of an actual or alleged incident. An incident occurring at our attractions or hospitality properties could reduce visitation, increase insurance premiums, and could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Labor and Employment Risks

Our business is relationship driven. Our GES business is heavily focused on client relationships, and, specifically, on having close collaboration and interaction with our clients. To be successful, our account teams must be able to understand clients’ desires and expectations in order to provide top-quality service. If we are unable to maintain our client relationships, including due to the loss of key members of our account teams, we could also lose customers and our results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

If we lose any of our key personnel, our ability to manage our business and continue our growth could be negatively impacted. Our success, at least in part, depends on the continued contributions of our executive team and key personnel. If one or more of our key personnel were to resign or otherwise terminate employment with us, we could experience operational disruptions. In addition, we do not maintain key person insurance on any of our executive employees or key personnel.

Union-represented labor increases our risk of higher labor costs and work stoppages. Significant portions of our employees are unionized. We have approximately 100 collective bargaining agreements, and we are required to renegotiate approximately one-third of those each year. If we increase wages or benefits as a result of labor negotiations, either our operating margins will suffer, or we could increase the cost of our services to our customers, which could lead those customers to turn to other vendors with lower prices. Either event could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Additionally, if we are unable to reach an agreement with a union during the collective bargaining process, the union may strike or carry out other types of work stoppages. If this were to occur, we might be unable to find substitute workers with the necessary skills to perform many of the services, or we may incur additional costs to do so, both of which could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Our participation in multi-employer pension plans could substantially increase our pension costs. We sponsor a number of defined benefit plans for our United States and Canada-based employees. In addition, we are obligated to contribute to multi-employer pension plans under collective bargaining agreements covering our union-represented employees. We contributed $19.0 million in 2023, $17.5 million in 2022, and $7.1 million in 2021 to those multi-employer pension plans. Third-party boards of trustees manage these multi-employer plans. Based upon the information we receive from plan administrators, we believe that several of those multi-employer plans are underfunded. The Pension Protection Act of 2006 requires us to reduce the underfunded status over defined time periods. Moreover, we would be required to make additional payments of our proportionate share of a plan’s unfunded vested liabilities if a plan terminates, or other contributing employers withdraw, due to insolvency or other reasons, or if we voluntarily withdraw from a plan. At this time, we do not anticipate triggering any significant withdrawal from any multi-employer pension plan to which we currently contribute. However, significant plan contribution increases could materially and adversely affect our consolidated financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. Refer to Note 19 – Pension and Postretirement Benefits of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (Part II, Item 8 of our 2023 Form 10-K) for further information.

Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Risks

We are vulnerable to cybersecurity attacks and threats. Our devices, servers, cloud-based solutions, computer systems, and business systems are vulnerable to cybersecurity risk, including cyberattacks, or we may be the target of email scams that attempt to acquire personal information and company assets. Many of our employees work remotely, which magnifies the importance of integrity of our remote access security measures. Despite our efforts to create security barriers to such threats, including regularly reviewing our systems for vulnerabilities and continually updating our protections, and protect ourselves with insurance, we might not be able to entirely mitigate these risks. Our failure to effectively prevent, detect, and recover from the increasing number and sophistication of information security threats could lead to business interruptions, delays or loss of critical data, misuse, modification, or destruction of information, including trade secrets and confidential business information, reputational damage, and third-party claims, any of which could materially and adversely affect our results of operations. Moreover, the cost of protecting against cybersecurity attacks and threats is expensive and expected to increase going forward.

Laws and regulations relating to the handling of personal data are evolving and could result in increased costs, legal claims, or fines. We store and process the personally identifiable information of our customers, employees, and third parties with whom we have business relationships. The legal requirements restricting the way we store, collect, handle, and transfer personal data continue to evolve, and there are an increasing number of authorities issuing privacy laws and regulations. These data privacy laws and regulations are subject to differing interpretations, creating uncertainty and inconsistency across jurisdictions. Our compliance with these myriad requirements could involve making changes in our services, business practices, or internal systems, any of which could increase our costs, lower revenue, or reduce efficiency. Our failure to comply with existing or new rules could result in significant penalties or orders to stop the alleged noncompliant activity, litigation, adverse publicity, or could cause our customers to lose trust in our services. In addition, if the third parties we work with violate applicable laws, contractual obligations to us, or suffer a security breach, those violations could also put us in breach of our obligations under privacy laws and regulations. In addition, the costs of maintaining adequate protection, including insurance protection against such threats, as they develop in the future (or as legal requirements related to data security increase) are expected to increase and could be material. Any of these risks could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Cybersecurity Risk Management and Strategy

We maintain a team, tools, policies, and processes for identifying, assessing, and managing material risks from cybersecurity threats. Threats like malware attacks, system vulnerabilities, and data breaches are actively identified, monitored, evaluated, and mitigated along with other Company risks. Our security team maintains centralized documentation regarding known security risks and mitigation. Consideration of material risks from cyber threats is integrated into our enterprise risk management processes and is a standing agenda item for discussion at our Audit Committee meetings. An Information Security Executive Committee representing multiple areas of the Company is responsible for assessing material risks from cybersecurity threats and represents multiple functions of the business including Finance, Human Resources, Legal, and the Information Technology (“IT”) departments. We have certain employee cybersecurity awareness campaigns and training designed to help promote a culture of cybersecurity awareness throughout the organization. Cybersecurity tools, processes, policies, and controls are periodically reviewed and updated in response to changes in the business environment and evolving threats, as well as to align with broader risk management objectives.

Our information security function, led by our Chief Information Officer (“CIO”), implements and maintains the processes and controls to help identify, assess, and manage material risks from cybersecurity threats. These controls include, but are not limited to, the following Center for Internet Security (“CIS”) controls:

• Account Management;
• Access Control Management;
• Continuous Vulnerability Management;
• Network Infrastructure Management;
• Incident Response Management;
• Security Awareness and Skills Training; and
• Data Protection - Encrypt Data on End-User Devices.

Supporting these controls are specific security measures that include threat intelligence monitoring, vulnerability scanning, and policy enforcement.

We use third-party service providers to assist us in identifying, assessing, and managing material risks from cybersecurity threats, including professional service firms, legal counsel, threat intelligence service providers, cybersecurity consultants, cybersecurity software providers, and forensic investigators. We have a Cybersecurity Incident Response Plan (“IRP”) that includes procedures for responding to and, to the extent applicable, disclosing material cybersecurity incidents in a timely manner. We have third-party risk management processes designed to assess risks from key vendors and suppliers, including application providers and hosting companies. Key software service providers utilized by the Company undergo a review process for security, reliability, and effectiveness. We have processes in place to address access to our network by such third parties, to the extent applicable, including network access controls designed to provide access on a ‘least privilege’ basis.

For a discussion of risks from cybersecurity threats that may materially affect the Company, see “Risk Factors” under the heading “Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Risks.” (Part I, Item 1A of this 2023 Form 10-K).

Cybersecurity Governance

Cybersecurity risk management is a part of our risk management process and is subject to oversight by our Board of Directors and management. Our Board of Directors has delegated oversight and mitigation of risks from cybersecurity threats to our Audit Committee. Our Audit Committee receives quarterly reports from either our CIO or our General Counsel concerning any significant cybersecurity threats, risks, and the tools and processes we have implemented for mitigation. Our cybersecurity risk assessment and management processes are implemented and maintained by certain members of management including the following:

• The Information Security Executive Committee consists of our General Counsel, Chief Accounting Officer, Chief Compliance Officer, CIO, and Vice Presidents of Human Resources from select business units. They are responsible for setting broad policy and communicating to the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and the Board of Directors on potential material cybersecurity incidents, which may require disclosure.
• The Information Security Council consists of our CIO, Chief Information Security Officer (“CISO”), in-house information security experts, and information technology experts and leaders from across the Company. The CIO leads this committee and communicates with the Information Security Executive Committee as required.
• The Information Security Team consists of cybersecurity professionals primarily responsible for managing cybersecurity at Viad. This team has the primary responsibility for identifying, assessing, and managing material risks from cybersecurity threats to our critical computer networks, third party hosted services, communications systems, hardware, software, and critical data. This team is led by our CIO, who has over 30 years of experience in information technology including cybersecurity oversight. This team includes the following:
• The CISO is an external expert who works with the Viad Information Security team on a fractional basis, reporting directly to the CIO and reporting periodically to our Board of Directors. The CISO is an information security professional with over 20 years of experience guiding and overseeing multiple companies’ development and implementation of information security strategy.
• The Vice President of Global Infrastructure is an internal role directly reporting to the CIO and responsible for implementing, maintaining, and providing oversight of the IT Infrastructure and the Information Security Team.
• The Security Architect is an internal role who leads the day-to-day operations of the Information Security team and oversees the individual analysts and IT experts on the team.
• The Security Incident Response Team (“SIRT”) is responsible for executing the IRP. The SIRT comprises individuals from multiple departments, divisions, and disciplines. Members of the SIRT are trained in incident response and reporting procedures.

We lease our corporate headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona. Our other principal properties are owned or leased by Pursuit and GES.

Pursuit primarily owns its properties, both domestically and internationally, other than its leases for properties related to the FlyOver attractions. Pursuit’s properties mainly include attractions, hotels and lodges, retail stores, and offices. Properties located in Canada are subject to multiple long-term ground leases with their respective governments. For further information on Pursuit’s attractions and hospitality assets, refer to “Business” (Part I, Item 1 of this 2023 Form 10-K), which information is incorporated by reference herein.

GES leases its properties, both domestically and internationally. GES properties consist of offices and multi-use facilities. Multi-use facilities include manufacturing, sales and design, office, storage and/or warehouse, and truck marshaling yards. Multi-use facilities vary in size. Our largest multi-use facility in the United States is approximately 1,447,000 square feet and our largest foreign multi-use facility is in Canada at approximately 81,000 square feet.

We believe our owned and leased properties are adequate and suitable for our business operations and that capacity is sufficient for current needs. For additional information related to our lease obligations, refer to Note 12 – Debt and Finance Obligations and Note 21 – Leases and Other of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (Part II, Item 8 of this 2023 Form 10-K), which information is incorporated by reference herein.

Refer to Note 22 – Litigation, Claims, Contingencies, and Other of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (Part II, Item 8 of this 2023 Form 10-K) for information regarding legal proceedings in which we are involved, which information is incorporated by reference herein.

The following Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (“MD&A”) should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and related notes. The MD&A is intended to assist in understanding our financial condition and results of operations. This discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated due to various factors discussed under “Risk Factors,” “Forward-Looking Statements,” and elsewhere in this 2023 Form 10-K.

Overview

We are a leading provider of extraordinary experiences, including hospitality and leisure activities, experiential marketing, and live events. We operate through three reportable segments: Pursuit, Spiro, and GES Exhibitions. Spiro and GES Exhibitions are both live event businesses and are referred to collectively as “GES.”

Results of Operations

A discussion related to our results of operations for 2023 compared to 2022 is presented below. A discussion related to our results of operations for 2022 compared to 2021 can be found in Part II, Item 7 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, filed with the SEC on February 28, 2023, and is incorporated herein by reference.

Financial Highlights

(in thousands, except per share data)

(1) Refer to Note 24 – Segment Information of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (Part II, Item 8 of this 2023 Form 10-K) for a reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measure, segment operating income, to the most directly comparable GAAP measure.

• Total revenue increased $111.4 million, primarily due to increased revenue at GES of $60.4 million attributable to improved demand for exhibition management and experiential marketing services, offset in part by the sale of substantially all of the assets of GES’ United States audio-visual production business, ON Services, in December of 2022, which contributed revenue of $50.9 million during 2022, and negative show rotation of approximately $23 million. Pursuit revenue increased $51.0 million, which was driven primarily by stronger international visitation.
• Net income attributable to Viad decreased $7.2 million, primarily due to a pre-tax gain on sale of ON Services of $19.6 million in 2022 as well as higher interest expense, net, of $13.1 million and higher income tax expense of $8.8 million, offset in part by higher segment operating income.
• Segment operating income increased $39.5 million, primarily due to higher revenue at GES and Pursuit.

Analysis of Revenue and Operating Results by Reportable Segment

Pursuit

The following table presents a comparison of Pursuit’s reported revenue and segment operating income for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022.

(in thousands)

** Change is greater than +/- 100%

(1) Revenue by line of business does not agree to Note 2 – Revenue and Related Contract Costs and Contract Liabilities of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (Part II, Item 8 of this 2023 Form 10-K) as the amounts in the above table include product revenue from food and beverage and retail operations within each line of business.

(2) Refer to Note 24 – Segment Information of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (Part II, Item 8 of this 2023 Form 10-K) for a reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measure, segment operating income, to the most directly comparable GAAP measure.

Pursuit revenue increased $51.0 million primarily due to increases in attractions revenue of $36.9 million and hospitality revenue of $13.7 million. The growth in attractions revenue was driven primarily by stronger international tourism to Western Canada and Iceland, as well as higher revenue per attraction visitor of 2.7%. The growth in hospitality revenue was driven primarily by revenue management efforts to drive stronger Revenue per Available Room (“RevPAR”) and increased guest demand in Western Canada, as well as higher ancillary revenue and an increase in room nights available of 3.9% with the addition of the Forest Park Alpine Hotel, which opened in August 2022.

Pursuit segment operating income increased $29.4 million primarily due to the increase in revenue, offset in part by the increase in operating costs to support higher business volume during 2023.

Performance Measures

We use the following key business metrics to evaluate the performance of Pursuit’s attractions business:

• Number of visitors. The number of visitors allows us to assess the volume of tickets sold at each attraction during the period.
• Revenue per attraction visitor. Revenue per attraction visitor is calculated as total attractions revenue divided by the total number of visitors at all Pursuit attractions during the period. Total attractions revenue includes ticket sales and ancillary revenue generated by attractions, such as food and beverage and retail revenue. Total attractions revenue per visitor measures the total spend per visitor that attraction properties are able to capture, which is important to the profitability of the attractions business.
• Effective ticket price. Effective ticket price is calculated as revenue from the sale of attraction tickets divided by the total number of visitors at all comparable Pursuit attractions during the period.

We use the following key business metrics, common in the hospitality industry, to evaluate Pursuit’s hospitality business:

• Revenue per Available Room. RevPAR is calculated as total rooms revenue divided by the total number of room nights available for all comparable Pursuit hospitality properties during the period. Total rooms revenue does not include non-rooms revenue, which consists of ancillary revenue generated by hospitality properties, such as food and beverage and retail revenue. RevPAR measures the period-over-period change in rooms revenue per available room for comparable hospitality properties. RevPAR is affected by average daily rate and occupancy, which have different implications on profitability.
• Average Daily Rate (“ADR”). ADR is calculated as total rooms revenue divided by the total number of room nights sold for all comparable Pursuit hospitality properties during the period. ADR is used to assess the pricing levels that the hospitality properties are able to realize. Increases in ADR lead to increases in rooms revenue with no substantial effect on variable costs, therefore having a greater impact on margins than increases in occupancy.
• Occupancy. Occupancy is calculated as the total number of room nights sold divided by the total number of room nights available for all comparable Pursuit hospitality properties during the period. Occupancy measures the utilization of the available capacity at the hospitality properties. Increases in occupancy result in increases in rooms revenue and additional variable operating costs (including housekeeping services, utilities, and room amenity costs), as well as increases in ancillary non-rooms revenue (including food and beverage and retail revenue).

The following table provides Pursuit’s key performance indicators:

(1) New experiences comprise the following attraction and lodging property that were opened or acquired after January 1, 2022: the Glacier Raft Company (acquired April 2022) and Forest Park Alpine Hotel (opened August 2022).

(2) Same-Store metrics include only attractions and lodging properties that Pursuit operated at full capacity, considering seasonal closures, for the entirety of both periods presented. For experiences located outside the United States, financial metric comparisons to the prior year are expressed on a constant U.S. dollar basis.

(3) Foreign exchange rate variance effects (or “FX Impact”) represents the adjustments necessary to express prior financial metrics on a constant U.S. dollar basis, using the current year quarterly average exchange rates for previous periods to eliminate the impact of changes in exchange rates for same-store Pursuit experiences located outside of the United States.

Attractions. The increase in number of attractions visitors during 2023 was primarily driven by strengthening international tourism to Western Canada and Iceland. The increase in same-store effective ticket price during 2023 was driven by revenue management efforts.

Attractions ticket revenue on a same-store basis increased $30.9 million on a 21.1% increase in visitors and a 5.8% increase in effective ticket price during 2023.

Hospitality. The increase in room nights available during 2023 was primarily driven by the addition of the Forest Park Hotel, which opened in August 2022. The increase in RevPAR during 2023 was due to increases in ADR and occupancy primarily driven by revenue management efforts and increased guest demand in Western Canada.

During 2023, rooms revenue on a same-store basis increased $6.5 million on a 9.1% increase in RevPAR and a 0.2% decrease in room nights available.

GES

The following table presents a comparison of GES’ reported revenue and segment operating income for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022:

(in thousands)

(1) Refer to Note 24 – Segment Information of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (Part II, Item 8 of this 2023 Form 10-K) for a reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measure, segment operating income, to the most directly comparable GAAP measure.

Spiro revenue increased $5.5 million primarily due to increased spending by existing clients and revenue from new clients and positive show rotation of approximately $7 million, offset in part by the sale of substantially all of the assets of ON Services in December of 2022, which contributed revenue of $27.6 million during 2022.

GES Exhibitions revenue increased $56.5 million, primarily due to same-show revenue growth of 18.6% and new event wins, offset in part by negative show rotation of approximately $30 million and the sale of substantially all of the assets of ON Services in December of 2022, which contributed revenue of $23.2 million during 2022.

Spiro segment operating income increased $0.6 million primarily due to the increase in revenue, offset in part by the ongoing investment in staff to support growth.

GES Exhibitions segment operating income increased $9.6 million, primarily due to the increase in revenue, offset in part by the restaffing of the workforce from pandemic levels.

Other Expenses

(in thousands)

** Change is greater than +/- 100%.

Gain on sale of ON Services – On December 15, 2022, we completed the sale of substantially all of the assets of ON Services. We recognized a gain on sale of approximately $19.6 million in 2022, which was adjusted downward by $0.2 million in 2023.

Interest Expense, net – The increase in interest expense was primarily due to higher interest rates in 2023.

Restructuring Charges – Restructuring charges during 2023 and 2022 were primarily related to our 2022 transformation and streamlining efforts at GES to significantly reduce costs and create a lower and more flexible cost structure focused on servicing our more profitable market segments.

Income Tax Expense – The effective income tax rates were 43.6% for 2023 and 28.8% for 2022. We generated higher income in 2023 than 2022 in our tax jurisdictions without a valuation allowance and were not able to recognize a benefit on losses in our jurisdictions with a valuation allowance.

Income (Loss) from Discontinued Operations – The loss from discontinued operations during 2023 was primarily due to legal matters related to previously sold operations.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

We believe that our existing sources of liquidity will be sufficient to fund operations and projected capital outlays for at least the next 12 months and the longer term.

When assessing our current sources of liquidity, we include the following:

(1) As of December 31, 2023, we held $50.4 million of our cash and cash equivalents outside of the United States.

(2) As of December 31, 2023, the available capacity includes our total Revolving Credit Facility size of $170 million less $57 million of outstanding borrowings and $5.0 million in outstanding letters of credit issued under the Revolving Credit Facility. As of December 31, 2022, the available capacity included our total Revolving Credit Facility size of $100 million less $13.3 million in outstanding letters of credit issued under the Revolving Credit Facility.

Cash provided by operating activities, supplemented by our existing cash and cash equivalents, is our primary source of liquidity for funding our business requirements. During the year ended December 31, 2023, net cash provided by operating activities was $104.7 million.

Our short-term and long-term funding requirements include debt obligations, maintenance capital expenditures, working capital requirements, and potential acquisitions and strategic investments as we focus on scaling Pursuit with investments in high-return unforgettable, inspiring experiences through its Refresh, Build, Buy growth strategy. Our projected capital outlays can be adjusted for changes in the operating environment.

Debt Obligations

Effective July 30, 2021, we entered into the 2021 Credit Facility. The 2021 Credit Facility provided for a $400 million Term Loan B, with a maturity date of July 30, 2028, and a $100 million Revolving Credit Facility, with a maturity date of July 30, 2026. The proceeds of the Term Loan B, net of $14.8 million in related fees, were used to repay the $327 million outstanding balance under our prior $450 million revolving credit facility and to provide for financial flexibility to fund future acquisitions and growth initiatives and for general corporate purposes. On January 4, 2023, we entered into an interest rate cap agreement with an effective date of January 31, 2023. The interest rate cap manages our exposure to interest rate increases on $300 million in borrowings under the 2021 Credit Facility or other Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”) based borrowings. Refer to Note 13 – Derivative of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (Part II, Item 8 of this 2023 Form 10-K) for additional information.

The Revolving Credit Facility carries financial covenants. On March 28, 2023, we entered into the Second Amendment to the 2021 Credit Facility, which modified the interest coverage financial covenant. On October 6, 2023, we entered into the Third Amendment to the 2021 Credit Facility, which among other things, increased the principal amount of the Revolving Credit Facility by $70 million, bringing the total amount of revolving capacity to $170 million. In connection with the Third Amendment, we prepaid $70 million of the outstanding balance on our existing Term Loan B using $60 million from the Revolving Credit Facility and $10 million of cash from the Company’s balance sheet. The current credit spread on our Revolving Credit Facility is 200 basis points lower than the credit spread on the Term Loan B, which is 5.00% for SOFR borrowings. As of December 31, 2023, we were in compliance with all covenants under the Revolving Credit Facility. Refer to Note 12 – Debt and Finance Obligations of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (Part II, Item 8 of this 2023 Form 10-K) for additional information.

Capital Expenditures

As of December 31, 2023, we have planned capital expenditures of approximately $65 million to $70 million for 2024, including approximately $20 million on select growth projects, such as the completion of FlyOver Chicago. We intend to continue making selective investments to advance Pursuit’s Refresh, Build, Buy growth strategy while maintaining a solid liquidity position.

Other Obligations

We have additional obligations as part of our ordinary course of business, beyond those committed for debt obligations and capital expenditures. Refer to Note 21 – Leases and Other and Note 19 – Pension and Postretirement Benefits of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (Part II, Item 8 of this 2023 Form 10-K) for further information. The expected timing of payments of our obligations is estimated based on current information. Timing of payments and actual amounts paid may be different, depending on changes to agreed-upon amounts for certain obligations.

Cash Flows

Operating Activities

(in thousands)

Net cash provided by operating activities increased $31.2 million primarily due to improved segment operating results at Pursuit and GES and improved working capital.

Investing Activities

(in thousands)

Net cash used in investing activities increased $11.6 million primarily due to proceeds from the sale of ON Services of $28.9 million in 2022 and an increase in capital expenditures in 2023, offset in part by cash paid for the Glacier Raft Company acquisition in April of 2022 of $25.5 million.

Financing Activities

(in thousands)

Net cash used in financing activities increased $30.0 million primarily due to net debt payments of $22.5 million during 2023 compared to net debt proceeds from borrowings of $4.1 million during 2022.

Debt and Finance Obligations

Refer to Note 12 – Debt and Finance Obligations of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (Part II, Item 8 of this 2023 Form 10-K) for further discussion all of which is incorporated by reference herein.

Guarantees

Refer to Note 22 – Litigation, Claims, Contingencies, and Other of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (Part II, Item 8 of this 2023 Form 10-K) for further discussion all of which is incorporated by reference herein.

Share Repurchases

Our Board of Directors previously authorized us to repurchase shares of our common stock from time to time at prevailing market prices. As of December 31, 2023, 546,283 shares remained available for repurchase under all prior authorizations. In March 2020, our Board of Directors suspended our share repurchase program. The Board of Directors’ authorization does not have an expiration date.

Additionally, we repurchased shares related to tax withholding requirements on vested restricted share-based awards.

Critical Accounting Estimates

The consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). We are required to make estimates and assumptions that affect our reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue, and expenses. Critical accounting estimates are those estimates that are most important to the portrayal of our financial position and results of operations, and that require us to make the most difficult and subjective judgments, often as a result of the need to make estimates of matters that are inherently uncertain. We identified and discussed with our Audit Committee the following critical accounting estimates and the methodology and disclosures related to those estimates:

Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets — Goodwill and other intangible assets with indefinite useful lives are not amortized, but instead are tested for impairment at least annually. Intangible assets with finite lives are amortized over their respective estimated useful lives and are reviewed for impairment if an event occurs or circumstances change that would indicate the intangible asset’s carrying value may not be recoverable.

Goodwill is tested for impairment at the reporting unit level on an annual basis as of October 31, and between annual tests if an event occurs or circumstances change that would more-likely-than-not reduce the fair value of a reporting unit below its carrying value. Our reporting units are defined, and goodwill is tested, at either an operating segment level or at the component level of an operating segment, depending on various factors including the internal reporting structure of the operating segment, the level of integration among components, the sharing of assets and other resources among components, and the benefits and likely recoverability of goodwill by the component’s operations.

For purposes of goodwill impairment testing, we use a discounted expected future cash flow methodology (income approach) to estimate the fair value of our reporting units. The estimates and assumptions regarding expected future cash flows (the most significant being revenue and EBITDA margins), discount rates, and terminal values require considerable judgment and are based on market conditions, financial forecasts, industry trends, and historical experience.

The most critical assumptions and estimates in determining the estimated fair value of our reporting units relate to the amounts and timing of expected future cash flows for each reporting unit and the reporting unit cost of capital (discount rate) applied to those cash flows. We estimate the assumed reporting unit cost of capital rates (discount rates) using a build-up method based on the perceived risk associated with the cash flows pertaining to the specific reporting unit. In order to assess the reasonableness of our fair value estimates, we perform a reconciliation of the aggregate fair values of our reporting units to our market capitalization.

As noted above, the estimates and assumptions regarding expected future cash flows, discount rates, and terminal values require considerable judgment and are based on market conditions, financial forecasts, industry trends, and historical experience. These estimates have inherent uncertainties, and different assumptions could lead to materially different results. Our goodwill balance was $123.9 million as of December 31, 2023 and $121.4 million as of December 31, 2022 and pertained to our Pursuit business. The discount rates used in our most recent impairment analysis ranged from 12% to 16%.

Pursuit’s goodwill was assigned to, and tested at, the reporting unit level. The results of our most recent impairment analysis performed as of October 31, 2023, indicated that no impairment existed for Pursuit’s reporting units with reported goodwill. The excess of the estimated fair value over the carrying value for the Banff Jasper Collection and the Alaska Collection was significant, Glacier Park Collection was 3%, and FlyOver was 5%. We will continue to closely monitor actual results versus expectations as well as whether and to what extent any significant changes in current events or conditions result in corresponding changes to our expectations about future estimated cash flows and discount rates. If our adjusted expectations of the operating results of our reporting units do not materialize, or the discount rate increases (based on increases in interest rates, market rates of return or market volatility), it is possible that we may be required to record goodwill impairment charges in the future, which may be material.

If an impairment indicator related to intangible assets is identified, or if other circumstances indicate an impairment may exist, we perform an assessment to determine if an impairment loss should be recognized. This assessment includes a recoverability test to identify if the expected future undiscounted cash flows are less than the carrying value of the related assets. If the results of the recoverability test indicate that expected future undiscounted cash flows are less than the carrying value of the related assets, we perform a measurement of impairment and we recognize any carrying amount in excess of fair value as an impairment. We periodically evaluate the continued recoverability of intangible assets which were previously evaluated due to an impairment indicator to determine if remeasurement is necessary.

Income taxes — We are required to estimate and record provisions for income taxes in each of the jurisdictions in which we operate. Accordingly, we must estimate our actual current income tax liability, and assess temporary differences arising from the treatment of items for tax purposes, as compared to the treatment for accounting purposes. These differences result in deferred tax assets and liabilities, which are included in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. We use significant judgment in forming conclusions regarding the recoverability of our deferred tax assets and evaluate all available positive and negative evidence to determine if it is more-likely-than-not that the deferred tax assets will be realized. To the extent recovery does not appear likely, a valuation allowance must be recorded. We had gross deferred tax assets of $119.9 million as of December 31, 2023 and $110.8 million as of December 31, 2022. We had a valuation allowance against gross deferred tax assets of $105.4 million as of December 31, 2023 and $101.6 million as of December 31, 2022.

While we believe that the deferred tax assets, net of existing valuation allowances, will be utilized in future periods, there are inherent uncertainties regarding the ultimate realization of these assets. It is possible that the relative weight of positive and negative evidence regarding the realization of deferred tax assets may change, which could result in a material increase or decrease in our valuation allowance. Such a change could result in a material increase or decrease to income tax expense/benefit in the period the assessment was made.

We record uncertain tax positions on the basis of a two-step process: first we determine whether it is more-likely-than-not that the tax positions will be sustained on the basis of the technical merits of the position; and, if so, we recognize the largest amount of tax benefit that is more than 50% likely to be realized upon ultimate settlement with the related tax authority.

Pension and postretirement benefits — Our pension plans use traditional defined benefit formulas based on years of service and final average compensation. Funding policies provide that payments to defined benefit pension trusts shall be at least equal to the minimum funding required by applicable regulations. We presently anticipate contributing $0.8 million to our funded pension plans and $0.8 million to our unfunded pension plans in 2024.

We have defined benefit postretirement plans that provide medical and life insurance for certain eligible employees, retirees, and dependents. The related postretirement benefit liabilities are recognized over the employees’ service period. In addition, we retain the obligations for these benefits for retirees of certain sold businesses. While the plans have no funding requirements, we expect to contribute $0.7 million to the plans in 2024.

The discount rates used in determining future pension and postretirement benefit obligations are based on rates determined by actuarial analysis and management review and reflect the estimated rates of return on a high-quality, hypothetical bond portfolio whose cash flows match the timing and amounts of expected benefit payments. Refer to Note 19 – Pension and Postretirement Benefits of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (Part II, Item 8 of this 2023 Form 10-K) for further information.

Share-based compensation — We grant share-based compensation awards to our officers, directors, and certain key employees pursuant to the 2017 Viad Corp Omnibus Incentive Plan, which has a 10-year term and provides for the following types of awards: (a) incentive and non-qualified stock options; (b) restricted stock awards and restricted stock units; (c) performance units or performance shares; (d) stock appreciation rights; (e) cash-based awards; and (f) certain other stock-based awards.

Share-based compensation expense recognized in the consolidated financial statements was $11.5 million in 2023, $10.2 million in 2022, and $7.7 million in 2021. We recorded total tax benefits related to such costs of $0.2 million in 2023 and $0.1 million in 2022 and 2021. No share-based compensation costs were capitalized during 2023, 2022, or 2021.

We account for share-based awards that will be settled in shares of our common stock as equity-based awards. We measure share-based compensation expense of equity-based awards at fair value on the grant date on a straight-line basis over the vesting period. The estimated number of awards to be achieved related to a performance condition is updated each reporting period based on the number of units expected to vest. The fair value of share-based awards that contain a performance goal based on a market condition such as total shareholder return is estimated using a Monte Carlo simulation. A Monte Carlo simulation requires the use of several assumptions, including historical volatility and correlation between our stock price and the price of the common shares of a comparator group, a risk-free rate of return, and an expected term.

We account for share-based payment awards that will be settled in cash as liability-based awards. We measure share-based compensation expense of liability-based awards at fair value at each reporting date until the date of settlement based on the number of units expected to vest and, where applicable, the level of achievement of predefined performance goals. These awards are remeasured on each reporting date based on our stock price. The fair value of share-based awards that contain a performance goal based on a market condition such as total shareholder return is estimated using the Monte Carlo simulation. A Monte Carlo simulation requires the use of several assumptions, including historical volatility and correlation between our stock price and the price of the common shares of a comparator group, a risk-free rate of return, and an expected term.

The fair value of stock option grants is estimated on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes stock option pricing model. The Black-Scholes model requires the use of several assumptions, including expected volatility, a risk-free interest rate, a forfeiture rate, and expected life. We measure share-based compensation for performance-based options on a straight-line basis over the performance period and the underlying shares expected to be settled are adjusted each reporting period based on estimated future achievement of the respective performance metrics. Service-based options are recognized on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period on a graded-vesting schedule.

Refer to Note 3 – Share-Based Compensation of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (Part II, Item 8 of this 2023 Form 10-K) for further information.

Self-Insurance Liabilities — We are self-insured up to certain limits for workers’ compensation and general liabilities, which includes automobile, product general liability, and client property loss claims. We have also retained and provided for certain workers’ compensation insurance liabilities in conjunction with previously sold businesses. We are also self-insured for certain employee health benefits. Provisions for losses for claims incurred, including actuarially derived estimated claims incurred but not yet reported, are made based on historical experience, claims frequency, and other factors. We have purchased insurance for amounts in excess of the self-insured levels.

Impact of Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Refer to Note 1 – Overview and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (Part II, Item 8 of this 2023 Form 10-K) for further information.

Non-GAAP Measure

In addition to disclosing financial results that are determined in accordance with GAAP, we also disclose segment operating income (loss) as a non-GAAP financial measure. Our use of segment operating income (loss) is supplemental to, but not as a substitute for, other measures of financial performance reported in accordance with GAAP. As not all companies use identical calculations, segment operating income (loss) may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies. We believe that our use of segment operating income (loss) provides useful information to investors regarding our results of operations for trending, analyzing, and benchmarking our performance and the value of our business.

“Segment operating income (loss)” is “net income (loss) attributable to Viad” before income (loss) from discontinued operations, corporate activities, net interest expense, income taxes, gains or losses from sales of businesses, restructuring charges, impairment charges, and certain other corporate expenses and charges that are not allocated to the reportable segments, and the reduction for income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests. Segment operating income (loss) is used to measure the profit and performance of our operating segments to facilitate period-to-period comparisons. Refer to Note 24 – Segment Information of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (Part II, Item 8 of this 2023 Form 10-K) for a reconciliation of segment operating income (loss) to income (loss) from continuing operations before income taxes.

We believe segment operating income (loss) is a useful operating metric as it eliminates potential variations arising from taxes, debt service costs, impairment charges, restructuring charges, strategic dispositions, the reduction of income (loss) attributable to non-controlling interests, and the effects of discontinued operations, resulting in an additional measure considered to be indicative of our ongoing operations and segment performance. Although we use segment operating income (loss) to assess the performance of our business, the use of this measure is limited because this measure does not consider material costs, expenses, and other items necessary to operate, or resulting from, our business. As segment operating income (loss) does not consider these items, net income (loss) attributable to Viad should be considered as an important measure of financial performance because it provides a more complete measure of our performance.

Our market risk exposure relates to fluctuations in foreign exchange rates and interest rates. Foreign exchange risk is the risk that fluctuating exchange rates will adversely affect our financial condition or results of operations. The foreign exchange risk is composed of both potential losses from the translation of foreign currency financial information and the remeasurement of foreign currency transactions. Interest rate risk is the risk that changing interest rates will adversely affect our financial position or results of operations.

Our foreign operations are primarily in Canada, the United Kingdom, Iceland, the Netherlands, the Middle East, and Germany. The functional currency of our foreign subsidiaries is their local currency. Accordingly, for purposes of consolidation, we translate the assets and liabilities of our foreign subsidiaries into U.S. dollars at the foreign exchange rates in effect at the balance sheet date. The unrealized gains or losses resulting from the translation of these foreign denominated assets and liabilities are included as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. As a result, significant fluctuations in foreign exchange rates relative to the U.S. dollar may result in material changes to our net equity position reported in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. We do not currently hedge our equity risk arising from the translation of foreign denominated assets and liabilities. We recorded cumulative unrealized foreign currency translation losses in stockholders’ equity of $35.3 million as of December 31, 2023 and $43.0 million as of December 31, 2022. We recorded an unrealized foreign currency translation gain in other comprehensive income (loss) of $7.6 million during the year ended December 31, 2023 and a loss of $26.8 million during the year ended December 31, 2022.

For purposes of consolidation, revenue, expenses, gains, and losses related to our foreign operations are translated into U.S. dollars at the average foreign exchange rates for the period. As a result, our consolidated results of operations are exposed to fluctuations in foreign exchange rates as revenue and segment operating income (loss) of our foreign operations, when translated, may vary from period to period, even when the functional currency amounts have not changed. Such fluctuations may adversely impact overall expected profitability and historical period-to-period comparisons. We do not currently hedge our net earnings exposure arising from the translation of our foreign revenue and segment operating income (loss).

A hypothetical change of 10% in the Canadian dollar exchange rate would result in a change to 2023 operating income of approximately $5.7 million. A hypothetical change of 10% in the British pound exchange rate would result in a change to 2023 operating income of approximately $0.9 million. A hypothetical change of 10% in the Euro exchange rate would result in a change to 2023 operating income of approximately $0.7 million. A hypothetical change of 10% in the Icelandic Krona exchange rate would result in a change to 2023 operating income of approximately $1.3 million.

We are exposed to foreign exchange transaction risk, as our foreign subsidiaries have certain loans and leases denominated in currencies other than the functional currency of the respective subsidiary. As of December 31, 2023, we had long-term contractual liabilities that were denominated in nonfunctional currencies of $46.9 million. As foreign exchange rates fluctuate, these liabilities are remeasured, and the corresponding adjustment is recorded in the Consolidated Statements of Operations. A hypothetical change of 10% in foreign currency rates could result in an adjustment to the Consolidated Statements of Operations of approximately $4.7 million. As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, we did not have any outstanding foreign currency forward contracts.

On January 4, 2023, we entered into an interest rate cap agreement with an effective date of January 31, 2023 to hedge cash flows on $300 million of our SOFR-based borrowings under the 2021 Credit Facility. Refer to Note 13 - Derivative of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (Part II, Item 8 of this 2023 Form 10-K) for further information.

We are exposed to short-term and long-term interest rate risk on certain of our debt obligations. A hypothetical change of 10% in interest rates would result in a change to 2023 interest expense of approximately $5 million.

We have established disclosure controls and procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed or submitted under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, and such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) and Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”), as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Management, together with our CEO and CFO, evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2023. Based on this evaluation, the CEO and CFO concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of December 31, 2023.

There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting that materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting during the fourth quarter of 2023.

MANAGEMENT’S REPORT ON INTERNAL CONTROL OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING

Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting. Internal control over financial reporting is defined in Rule 13a-15(f) or 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act as a process designed by, or under the supervision of, our principal executive and principal financial officers and effected by our Board of Directors, our management and other personnel, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with GAAP and includes those policies and procedures that:

• Pertain to the maintenance of records that in reasonable detail accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of our assets;
• Provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with GAAP, and that our receipts and expenditures are being made only in accordance with authorizations of our management and directors; and
• Provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of our assets that could have a material effect on our financial statements.

Because of inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate. All internal control systems, no matter how well designed, have inherent limitations. Therefore, even those systems determined to be effective can provide only reasonable assurance with respect to financial statement preparation and presentation. Because of the inherent limitations of internal control, there is a risk that material misstatements may not be prevented or detected on a timely basis by internal control over financial reporting. However, these inherent limitations are known features of the financial reporting process. Therefore, it is possible to design into the process safeguards to reduce, though not eliminate, this risk.

Management performed an assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting using the criteria described in the “Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013),” issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. The objective of this assessment was to determine whether our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2023.

Based on our assessment, we concluded that, as of December 31, 2023, our internal control over financial reporting is effective based on those criteria.

Our independent registered public accounting firm, Deloitte & Touche LLP, has issued a report relating to our audit of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, which appears on the following page of this 2023 Form 10-K.

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the shareholders and the Board of Directors of Viad Corp

Opinion on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

We have audited the internal control over financial reporting of Viad Corp and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2023, based on criteria established in Internal Control — Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (“COSO”). In our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023, based on criteria established in Internal Control — Integrated Framework (2013) issued by COSO.

We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”), the consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2023, of the Company and our report dated March 1, 2024, expressed an unqualified opinion on those consolidated financial statements.

Basis for Opinion

The Company’s management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in the accompanying Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk, and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

Definition and Limitations of Internal Control over Financial Reporting

A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

/s/ Deloitte & Touche LLP

Tempe, Arizona

March 1, 2024