Theme parks on the Costa del Sol: the winning formula that never fails

Lorena Cádiz

Costa del Sol

Monday, 29 July 2024, 17:56

The province of Malaga and the Costa del Sol in particular have a long history of theme parks. There is Tivoli in Benalmádena, one of the first amusement parks in this country, which opened in 1972, although it is currently closed. There is also Aqualand in Torremolinos, formerly Aquapark, which has been open to the public for four decades.

The theme and amusement parks are a profitable sector in a tourist destination that brings in a very high number of tourists. Proof of this is that their offers are always growing. Many of them are no longer just offer a fun day out but are committed to going one step further in the experience for their visitors.

Parques Reunidos is one of the largest companies in the sector, with a firm commitment to the Costa del Sol through three different visitor experiences, which directly employ around 300 people and indirectly employ a good number more through their use of other local companies as suppliers.

The company's longest running park is Selwo Aventura, in Estepona, which this year celebrates its 25th anniversary. When it opened it was one of the first zoos with animals in semi-freedom. In its early years it was around 100 hectares in size. "It was a park with a very difficult size to manage, but with the passage of time it has been reduced to something more in line with the current zoos and now has about 14 hectares," explained Alberto Martin, director of Selwo Costa del Sol.

Due to the similarity between the climate of the Costa del Sol and North Africa, 99 per cent of what the park has to offer are animals from the African continent and practically all of them are part of conservation programmes. In total, 1,100 animals of 120 different species. "The concept of zoos has changed a lot," said Martín, who explained that "now the aim is for them to be parks focused on education in conservation and biodiversity, so that visitors get to know the animals, learn about them and respect them.

This company is also the owner of Selwo Marina in Benalmádena, a smaller urban zoo with 500 animals of about 75 species and in this case all from the American continent. Here, all the animals are included in European conservation programmes and the aim is the same: fun and education in equal parts for visitors.

Its third offer on the coast is the Benalmádena cable car, a totally different concept.

Although all theme and amusement parks, as a rule, are reluctant to make their visitor figures public, Martín acknowledges a progressive growth every year. "Except for the Covid years, which were very hard because the costs were the same, seeing as the animals need the same food and care whether they are open or closed, the truth is that we have not stopped growing." And this year promises to be a good year: "We have been here for six months and we are very happy, the projections of visitors have been very positive and even better than last year".

Regarding the profile of visitors, the director of Selwo Costa del Sol differentiates between one park and another. In the case of the cable car, foreign tourists represent up to 80 per cent of the total. This is also similar in Selwo Marina; on the other hand, Selwo Aventura is the park that receives more national tourism. The latter is the first zoo that allows sleeping inside the animal enclosure, with a hotel offer that has progressively increased and that still has "more demand than supply", so the company is already working on expanding its facilities.

Sea Life is an aquarium located in Puerto Marina, in Benalmádena, which was founded 29 years ago and is part of the British company Merlin Entertainments, owner among many other companies of the Legoland parks. María Moronda, its marketing director, highlights the leisure offer they provide, but at the same time constantly emphasises the work they do every day to raise awareness about the conservation of the seas and their species. "For us it is a priority to transmit the care of our seas," she says.

As in the rest of the leisure parks, families with children are its most loyal public. And among these, more than 70 per cent of visitors are foreign tourists, followed by national tourists, while nine per cent are residents. Some 35 people make up the staff of this leisure park in the high season. Morondo also predicts a good year. "In the first months the visitor figures have been very good and we are even ten per cent above the 2023 expenditure.

As they are open all year round, their visitor profile varies, according to Yolanda del Cid, head of the marketing department. During the summer they attract mainly foreigners and in winter a lot of national tourists, or residents due to the agreements with the educational centres. Now in the mist of the high season, it employs 25 people. "Since we opened, we have been growing every year, word of mouth and the reviews we have on the internet have helped us a lot. This year is looking good, we have had a good winter, even better than last year and it looks like the summer is going to be good too", explained Del Cid.

Specifically, this association, which represents 28 of the 36 leisure parks in the province, employing 1,500 professionals, is demanding that they be considered as a tourist activity in order to stop paying IVA (Spain's sales tax) at 21% and move towards the ten per cent rate for the tourism sector.