During the past few years, more and more event planners have been choosing amusement and theme parks for their incentives and conventions.
The benefits of hosting an event in a theme park are countless. First of all, many of them count with huge infrastructures which include accommodation, restaurants and meeting rooms.
Centralising all activities in a unique environment makes also more efficient the logistic of the event, reducing the number of transfers needed therefore allowing extra time for additional activities in the agenda.
Moreover the adrenaline factor plays a big role, especially in team building sessions, fostering relations and excitement. During the summer period it’s also a great idea to include a ride on a water attraction for a refreshing break between meetings and other indoor sessions.
According to IAAPA (International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions), companies in the attractions industry, are reinvesting every year an average of 13% of their revenues in improvements and novelties, describing themselves as “…a big engine of the tourism industry”, Karen Staley, IAAPA vice-president.
In Spain there are more than 126 parks among thematic, amusement, aquatic and zoological ones. Below there is a selections of the most suitable theme and aquatic parks for MICE events and memorable incentive experiences in Spain.
PortAventura
PortAventura, located only 1 hour from Barcelona, has been nominated the best thematic park in the world by National Geographic España.
The park includes a fully equipped convention centre with cutting-edge technology and 18 multi-functional rooms with an overall capacity of 3000 delegates. Event attendees can enjoy natural daylight in most of the rooms surrounded by the authentic Mediterranean environment of beautiful gardens, overwhelming views and golf courses.
PortAventura offers exclusive access to three different theme parks to turn every programme into something different, fun and unforgettable. Ferrari Land is the newest, with more than 70000 sq meters of excitement.
A journey inspired by the art of Italian geniuses with recreations of buildings and monuments such as the Roman Colosseum, the Campanile di San Marco and The Teatro alla Scala in Milan among others. Guests can enjoy an outdoor cocktail dinner in Via Italia or a special lunch in an authentic Italian Trattoria.
When it comes to hosting events, accommodation plays a crucial role and comfort is essential.
PortAventura offers more than 2100 rooms in its 5-star and 4-star hotels (Hotel Mansión de Lucy, Hotel PortAventura, Hotel Caribe, Hotel El Paso and Hotel Gold River).
The park also includes a beach club located just few minutes away from the Convention Centre, three golf courses , sea views, roman archaeological ruins and a wide range of team building activities.
Siam Park
Located in the south of Tenerife in the Canary islands, the Siam Park is the largest water park in Europe: 185,000 square meters of lush scenery, natural gardens and an exotic Thai design.
Nominated the best water park in the world according to TripAdvisor, the Siam Park offers meeting spaces for events, conventions, team buildings and a surf school.
The must-try attraction for adrenaline-lovers is the Dragon, a slide with a totally vertical funnel, for a true sensation of zero gravity. Also the Tower of Power gives a unique speed-feeling with its water slide, 28 meters high from where you can enjoy a 80km/h ride, ending in a huge aquarium full of sharks and rays.
The water park includes the Siam Beach, the only private beach in Spain where you can celebrate an event. With a capacity of 1000 people, white sand and turquoise water complement the tropical environment, making it the perfect place for big celebrations, parties or gala dinners.
Culinary experiences can be offered at the local restaurants, ranging from traditional Spanish dishes to exquisite oriental options.
Conferences can also be organised in the amphitheatre, which can host up to 2000 people with incredible views to the Atlantic Ocean, and it’s close to other facilities such as various pools, bars, private islands and luxury cabins.
In terms of accommodation, we suggest to host your guest at the Hotel Iberostar Bouganville Playa or Hard Rock hotel Tenerife, respectively 5 minutes and 20 minutes away from the Siam Park.
Parque Warner
The Parque Warner, located 29 kilometres south of Madrid is a movie-themed amusement park, awarded from 2006 as the safest theme park in Spain.
The Warner offers a fabulous universe of magic and glamour where your guests can experience team-building adventures in the Far West, unload their adrenaline with a gymkhana in the land of the Superheroes. Whether it is a convention, a meeting or a product launch, the staging will be spectacular and the result a great success.
Featuring a wide variety of venues (halls, restaurants, auditoriums…) with capacities ranging between 25 and 2500 people and decorations that can be adapted to the needs of each client. Some of them have special effects, which will make your event something unique, original and memorable.
The biggest space is offered by the Theatre of Specialists, a magnificent outdoor auditorium of 1700 square meters with a capacity of 2500 people. The Chinese Theatre close to the entrance to the park, on Hollywood Boulevard, impresses its visitors with the splendour of its facade, it has three rooms to accommodate 670 people. A smaller room is the Casablanca, of Moroccan inspiration with a surface of 700 square metres.
Our suggestion in terms of accommodation would be the Hotel Westin Palace or the Urban Hotel in Madrid.
Other recommended options worth to mention in the Spanish theme park landscape are Benidorm Theme Park, Terra Mitica and Isla Mágica in the centre of Seville.
If you would like to have more information about theme & amusement parks’ programmes, our team would love to give you more details about the adventurous experiences you are invited to enjoy with Ovation Spain DMC!