Tourism operator NZ Experience has slashed its six-month profit forecast.

NZ Experience owns and operates Rainbow’s End theme park in Auckland's Manukau and the expected profit after tax for the six-months to December 31 2011 is $750,000, 25.7% less than the $1.01 million profit reported for the same 2010 period.

Forecasted full year profit at the start of the current financial year was for $1.4 million to $1.6 million profit after the tax for the year ending 30 June 2012.

“Profits likely to be at the lower end of that range now because of the tough trading period we have had in the first six-months.

“December and January are our two peak months of the year and the adverse weather we had in December with the cloudiest December on record and twice the annual rainfall being an outdoor park that’s what has probably affected us the most,” New Zealand Experience CEO Chris Deere told NBR.

The Rugby World Cup also ate up a lot of discretionary spending but the affects were harder to measure, Mr Deere says.

One of the other reasons for reporting at the lower range of expectations was because the $1.01 million profit after tax in the first six-months of 2010 was an exceptionally strong for first-half for he company.

Total visitor numbers were down 13,500 for the half-year from 168,000 visitors in the first half of 2010 to 154,500 for the six months to December 31 2011. The 8% drop in first half visitor numbers was a reflection of the bad weather, Mr Deere says.

“”Having said that we are positive about the coming half year, we have a strong March booked with some large corporate events and if the weathers good for us we are hopeful it will all come together,” he says.

The full half-year results are expected to be released on February 23.

New Zealand Experience shares last traded unchanged at 40c (NZE).