Leisure parks and destination redevelopment: the case of PortAventura, Catalonia

The ability of medium‐sized and large leisure parks to generate external economies, create a new image for specific places and catalyse the location of economic activities is examined in the context of PortAventura, Catalonia. PortAventura theme park, established in Salou in 1995, is the result of a regional and local public destination rejuvenation policy started during the 1980s. It is currently the largest theme park in Spain and the second largest in Europe. Having reached the 4 million visitors‐a‐year threshold in 2007, since the late 1990s it has gone from being a classic leisure park to becoming a whole entertainment complex. Research outcomes presented in this paper discuss the extent to which Salou and its surrounding area, the central Costa Daurada, the mass tourism destination where the park is sited, are enjoying renewed expansion and are transforming the consolidated tourism business into new recreational, cultural and entertainment opportunities.

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