ΔΙΕΘΝΗΣ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗ ΗΛΕΚΤΡΟΝΙΚΗ ΕΦΗΜΕΡΙΔΑ ΠΟΙΚΙΛΗΣ ΥΛΗΣ - ΕΔΡΑ: ΑΘΗΝΑ

Ει βούλει καλώς ακούειν, μάθε καλώς λέγειν, μαθών δε καλώς λέγειν, πειρώ καλώς πράττειν, και ούτω καρπώση το καλώς ακούειν. (Επίκτητος)

(Αν θέλεις να σε επαινούν, μάθε πρώτα να λες καλά λόγια, και αφού μάθεις να λες καλά λόγια, να κάνεις καλές πράξεις, και τότε θα ακούς καλά λόγια για εσένα).

Κυριακή 26 Ιανουαρίου 2014

Europa-Park continues to grow - Reporting a record number of visitors again at the turn of the year


 Europa-Park finished its 2013 season with a new record number of visitors at almost five million people. Its winter opening has proven to be a strong visitor magnet. The owner of Europa-Park, Roland Mack, says, "Our extended service has paid off. Winter opening has become a stimulus for growth with close to 500,000 visitors in this year alone. On peak days, we had up to 25,000 visitors, the likes of which we had only ever seen in the summer season. The proportion of first time visitors is higher in winter than in summer." Europa-Park is becoming more and more attractive for older visitors.

Despite a high number of rainy days in the spring, Germany's largest theme park had its most successful year in terms of visitors and revenue since it opened in 1975. The successful winter opening season first took place thirteen years ago.

A further trend from 2013: more and more visitors from France and Switzerland are coming to Europa-Park. The number of French visitors has increased to around 1.3 million, and some 1.2 million fans from Switzerland came to visit the largest theme park in Germany. The number of French guests staying overnight has grown by approximately 30%.

Major international attraction with star director Luc Besson
Meanwhile, it's been full steam ahead with work on Europa-Park's next major attraction, which will be ready for the start of the summer season on 5 April 2014: "Arthur - In the Minimoys Kingdom", a co-operation with the world-famous French director, Luc Besson. Europa-Park has invested over 20 million euros in the most expensive indoor attraction that the park has had to date. Over an area of over 3,500 square metres, the original scene sets for 'Arthur and the Invisibles' have been constructed under a 15 metre high dome. The centrepiece of the new attraction is an impressive ride, a world debut from the Mack Rides company. What is particularly special and innovative about the attraction is the interplay between a world-renowned director's film series and innovative ride facilities, comparable with the concept of 'The Wizarding World of Harry Potter' at Universal Studios in the USA.

Luc Besson's fantasy series "Arthur and the Invisibles" is a magical, action-packed adventure trilogy. The French film director has already been responsible for more than 15 films, including 'The Big Blue' (1988), 'Leon - The Professional' (1994), 'The Fifth Element' (1997) and 'From Paris with Love' (2006).

Beatles exhibition
During the winter season, which ran until 6 January 2014, around 3,000 fir trees, 2.5 million lights on five kilometre long light chains, over 100,000 Christmas baubles and countless camp fires transformed Europa-Park into a romantic winter wonderland. Shows with top class international artists kept guests entertained.

The interactive Beatles exhibition has proven to be a great success this year. To celebrate the 50 year anniversary of the first Beatles album, 'Please Please Me', a showcase with over 15 sections could be experienced in the Mercedes-Benz Hall. The exhibition by Bernhard Paul, director of the Circus Roncalli, presented a selection from the exciting collection that he has amassed over many years, including original Beatles costumes, accurate guitar reproductions, photo displays and of course plenty of Beatles tunes.

Significant social commitment
At the end of the year, Europa-Park was able to look back on many social activities: the 'Happy Hearts' campaign in the 2013 season gave over 53,000 socially disadvantaged people an eventful day in Germany's largest theme park. The commitment of the Mack family has allowed Europa-Park to extend this invitation to well over one million people since it opened in 1975. Further projects such as fund-raising galas, benefit concerts or the Europa-Park Eagles Charity Golf Cup show how important social responsibility is for the Mack family who own the park.

Over the company's history, more than EUR 10 million has been made available to worthy causes through numerous cultural and social events. One of the most spectacular examples was the Jose Carreras Gala in Europa-Park on 19 December: EUR 2.8 million was raised on the night and through a number of campaigns in advance. For the the first time ever, the Jose Carreras Gala was televised not only in Germany, but also in Austria, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia and streamed live online. The event venue was also new: after 18 years in Leipzig, this year the gala was broadcast from the festively decorated Europa-Park in Rust.