Europa-Park on track for record-breaking year

By | November 8, 2012

RUST, Germany — With the busy Christmas season still to come, Europa-Park is well on its way to setting a new attendance record with over 4 millions guests passing through the gates by the beginning of October. The number of visitors to Germany’s largest leisure park continues to increase with guests coming from places other than Germany, France and Switzerland. While a record number of visitors did come from France, there was a considerable increase in visitors from the Arab region.

The four-million visitor threshold was exceeded at the beginning of October, about a month earlier than in 2011. “Over 85 percent of visitors are already repeat visitors, and that’s the clearest possible acknowledgement of our concept,” says Roland Mack, owner of Europa-Park. Conference business has also seen another double-digit increase, as it did last year. A strong push is coming from the new four-star superior Hotel Bell Rock, which opened in July 2012. The themed hotels, of which there are now five, are currently full to over 95 percent of capacity. Europa-Park is consistently enhancing its position as a national and international destination for short breaks. More and more people are visiting the park several times a season and an increasing number of guests are staying overnight.

The new wooden coaster “WODAN — Timburcoaster” has proven to be a visitor magnet. Since its opening on March 31, 2012, more than 2.5 million passengers have taken a ride on the coaster, which, by October, had been dispatched about 100,000 times. The Secret of Balthasar Castle, a 4-D film produced for Europa-Park and featuring its own characters including Euromouse, attracted 1.2 million guests.

Europa-Park closed on November 4 to prepare for the winter season that runs daily from November 24 to January 6. It will feature 2,500 Christmas trees, 2.5 million lights, over 100,000 Christmas decorations and new shows with international artists. “The number of first-time visitors is even higher in winter than it is in summer,” said Mack. Europa-Park becomes more attractive to older visitors in particular at that time.