PortAventura World

As it gears up for the opening of Ferrari Land next year, the Spanish destination PortAventura is aiming to consolidate its status as a major European resort with a rebranding exercise that sees it emerge as PortAventura World Parks & Resort.

“For quite some time PortAventura has been transformed from just a theme park to become a world of unique experiences,” explains general sales director Giovanni Cavalli. “Today we are a complete holiday resort with an international presence that includes a theme park with record-breaking rollercoasters, a waterpark, 4 and 5-star hotels, more than 20 restaurants, a convention centre and beach club.”

Construction of Ferrari Land (pictured above) is scheduled for completion later this year, with opening set for a date to be decided in 2017. The new park dedicated to the Italian sports car brand represents a total investment of around €100 million and will feature adrenaline-fuelled attractions for families and Ferrari fans of all ages. Occupying an area of around 60,000 sq m, it will make PortAventura World the European resort with the highest number of theme parks (three in total). The existing theme park and waterpark currently attract around 4 million guests a year, of which about 50% come from outside Spain, including growth markets such as Russia and Italy.

The star Ferrari Land attraction will be the “vertical accelerator” (as pictured at top of page) a 112m-high launch coaster from Intamin that will take the crown of Europe’s highest rollercoaster, snatching the title comfortably from PortAventura’s own 76m-tall Shambhala. On board, passengers will experience similar sensations as in a Formula 1 racing driver as they are propelled from 0 to 180 km/h in just 5 seconds. After soaring to over 110m, they will plummet back down at a maximum inclination of 90°.

Two tower rides are planned for Ferrari Land

Also promised as part of the ride line-up are two bounce-back tower rides standing over 55m high and a fun 570m race track where guests can enjoy a real driving experience. Details of other attractions will be announced over the coming months.

“Trattoria” style dining will be offered at Ferrari Land

A special Ferrari Land section is featured on the new PortAventura World Parks & Resort website (portaventuraworld.com) where visitors can take a video virtual tour of the new park and follow construction.

The website has been completely overhauled to suit both the expanding nature of the resort and also the way users access it – via multiple kinds of device. It is a cleaner, more modern site that uses multimedia content to create a richer but easier to use experience.

Whether they are using a computer, mobile phone or tablet, PortAventura fans will find the processes of buying tickets, booking hotels and exploring all that the resort has to offer a much more streamlined process. PortAventura is also hoping to strengthen customer loyalty through a private area of the site, where it will offer customised content and products for each visitor or potential visitor.
We are confident that the user will enjoy the resort experience provided through this new portal,” says Cavalli. “We aim to provide a simple and visual space, accessible to the whole family, that will simultaneously allow us to increase our direct sales.”

PortAventura finished its 20th anniversary season on January 6 and will reopen for the main 2016 season on March 18.