Parques Reunidos will invest 30 million euros to reinforce Marineland, the largest Marine Life Park in Europe

RRSS

Madrid, Spain. June 12th, 2014. The Parques Reunidos Group, one of the largest leisure park operators in the world, will be investing up to 30 million Euros over the next 3 years in its Marineland park, the largest marine life park in Europe, as part of its growth strategy and its plan for a continuous growth of its current park portfolio.

Marineland, owned by Parques Reunidos since 2006 and located in Antibes, France, it has become the most visited attraction on the Côte d’Azur. Marineland is currently composed of four separate areas that include the marine life park itself (Marineland), a water park (Aquasplash), a mini-golf (Adventure Golf) and a kids entertainment area (Kids Island). Marineland is the only park in Europe to have killer whales in its animal collection and to enable visitors to enjoy the experience of swimming with the dolphins or diving among sharks.

This investments will allow Parques Reunidos to build “Marineland Resort”, the first resort to be integrated within the park, as well as “Paradise Creek”, an extension to the Dolphin Lagoon that will immerse visitors in a sub-aquatic adventure. Finally, the park will have a new 3D, 360-degree attraction, called “A Turtle Odyssey”.

Yann Caillère, CEO of Parques Reunidos, and Bernard Giampaolo, head manager of Marineland, have introduced these new projects for the park during the ceremony for the laying of the foundation stone of the Marineland Resort hotel, an event also attended by the major of Antibes, Jean Leonetti.

During the ceremony, Yann Caillère has outlined the key elements in the Group’s growth strategy for the next three years. Parques Reunidos is currently a leading player in the leisure industry, with over 26.2 million visitors in 2013 across its 69 parks, located in 12 countries.

Parques Reunidos aims to attract two million new visitors over the next three years, through a growth strategy based on two pillars: the optimization of its existing parks and an expansion through acquisitions and new management contracts.

“Marineland is a prime example of the first of the two pillars upon which we base our strategy for the future. It is a strategic park for the Group for its high potential for growth. That is why we will be investing 30 million Euros over the next three years, looking to improve the experience of our visitors, thanks to a new resort and a new area that will enable visitors to interact with marine life”, said Yann Caillère.

Three new experiences for visitors to Marineland

The “Marineland Resort” hotel is expected to open in spring 2015. It will be a 3-star themed hotel consisting of 90 rooms and 5 suites, across five marine life-themed buildings, each dedicated to a particular animal (dolphin, killer whale, shark, turtle and bear).

This investment also includes the construction of “Paradise Creek”, an extension to the current Dolphin Lagoon decorated as a tropical island, with a white sand beach and an interactive swimming pool with the dolphins that will be able to hold up to 300 people, for an exclusive experience, unavailable anywhere else in the world. An “all-inclusive” package will offer visitors the chance to enjoy the lagoon, swim with the dolphins – a unique experience in Europe – and enjoy varied, high-quality gastronomic offerings.

Finally, the park will also invest in interactive activities around a new 3D and 360-degree attraction. “A Turtle Odyssey” will immerse visitors on a journey through the world of turtles, in which visitors will be able to admire the wonderful adventure that is the life of a turtle, from birth to adulthood and through its oceanic routes.

In the words of Bernard Giampaolo, head manager of Marineland “the hotel completes the park experience by offering visitors the chance to totally immerse in the Marineland world. Also, this accommodation offering enables our visitors to extend the length of their visit, allowing Marineland to become a true destination park. This hotel is just the beginning of new investments and more exciting experiences in our park”.

“Paradise creek will be our fifth theme park within Marineland to have extraordinary animals: dolphins, turtles, killer whales, rays, tropical fish, and many more. This new park completes our offer to guests so we can remain the preferred entertainment attraction of the Côte d’Azur”, stated Bernard Giampaolo.

Thanks to this investment, Marineland will continue growing, while remaining true to its two main objectives: to offer visitors real emotions and excitement and contribute to the preservation of various marine species. To this end, the park is involved, through its Foundation Marineland, in activities for the preservation of various species (Mediterranean marine turtles, polar bears, and so on) as well as in awareness and scientific research with the Conservation Research Center (CRC).

About Marineland

Marineland is the largest marine park in Europe and the only one in continental Europe to have killer whales in its animal collection. With a total of 40 species, and 1.200 000 visitors per year, Marineland is the most visited site in the Côte d’Azur. The park has also expanded thanks to its additional parks: Kids Island, Aquasplash, which has become the leading seasonal water park in France for the past 2 years, and finally Adventure Golf, the mini-golf park. We have also experienced growing success thanks to interactions with iconic animals (dolphins, whales, sea lions, turtles…) www.marineland.fr

About Parques Reunidos

Parques Reunidos is the second largest operator of leisure parks in Europe, with 69 parks (theme and amusement parks, nature and animal parks, water parks, family entertainment centers and cable cars), in the USA, Spain, France, Italy, Norway, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Denmark and Argentina.

The Group has accelerated its expansion in Europe and America in recent years, reaffirming itself as a leader in the Spanish leisure sector and a reference operator in this market, at both the European and international level, receiving about 26.2 million visitors annually. For further information on Parques Reunidos:
www.parquesreunidos.com

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