Guests at the new Sol Katmandu Park & Resort will enjoy an integrated themed hotel and park experience, with all facilities seamlessly integrated into one unique resort experience. The Joint Venture will generate capital gains to Meliá of 11m€ .The 2nd phase of the Calviá Beach Resort project is at full speed, driven by Meliá with the Balearic Government´s support.
Meliá Hotels International informed the Spanish Stock Market Commission today about the new Joint Venture signed with the Katmandu Group and its operating company, Producciones de Parques, S.L., further reinforcing the cooperation agreement between both companies first announced last summer.
The Joint Venture comprises the merger of the Magaluf Park Hotel and the adjacent Katmandu Park®, a new generation of theme park to create Sol Katmandu Park & Resort, set to deliver a unique themed destination resort experience, where guests are immersed in unique interactive environments while also enjoying nearby Magaluf, which offers one of the best beaches on the island of Mallorca. The project will include the integration of all the facilities, operations and communications of both businesses, and the hotel will raise its category to a superior resort level along the coming years.
Katmandu Park® was founded in 2005 by a small group comprised of a Majorcan businessman and American-style amusement operators who also founded the Palma Nova Golf Fantasia in 1988. Katmandu Park® is a new concept of theme park built on compact plot of land in densely populated tourist destinations, and features an anchor attraction, the House of Katmandu™, along with several additional attractions such as 4D animation rides, interactive games, a haunted experience, expedition-style miniature golf, and a themed full service bar and restaurant, and more new attractions opening in 2013. Co-Founder Scott Demerau states “Katmandu Park® has managed to defy the economic crisis and increase its visitor numbers year after year because we give our guests permission to have fun and at the same time deliver cutting edge attractions never seen before in Mallorca”.
This aspiration fits perfectly with the vision of Meliá Hotels International, owner of several hotels in the area, to renovate and reposition Magaluf as a superior quality tourism destination. Until this renovation brought new life to the area, Magaluf had suffered a continuous decline in welfare and employment in the region due to an obsolete tourism model, and the new joint venture will help to increase value and profitability from both the financial and social perspectives. As the Company´s Vice Chairman and CEO highlighted, “diversification and segmentation are the key drivers for successful tourism in the coming years. And now Magaluf –thanks to the Calviá Beach Resort project- provides an integrated experience to attract each customer profile and segment”.
“Renovate or die” for mature destinations
This vision started to come true last year when Meliá launched the Calviá Beach Resort project with the comprehensive reform of 4 beachfront hotels, and the creation of new brands and lifestyle leisure experiences. The project will continue with the renovation of other areas of the destinations, including the creation of new pedestrianised areas and the renewal of formerly rundown shopping areas and congress facilities.
Meliá currently works on its second phase, which involves the refurbishing of several hotels in the area – such as the Sol Cala Blanca and the Sol Antillas- as well as the integral renewal of the 150 new rooms of the already – partially- inaugurated Beach House Hotel. The Sol Katmandu Park & Resort announcement is part of the continuation of this project, which tore through the public-private partnership and special thanks to the “Regional Interest Statement” made by the Balearic Government at the end of 2011.
After the first summer season (the first phase was opened in July 2012) Calviá Beach Resort has done much to improve the image of the area, opening up Magaluf to new markets, such as Russia, Germany or Scandinavia, alongside the traditional British market. In its first three months of operations, the hotels and leisure facilities created more than 300 jobs, attracted customers with greater purchasing power, and replaced the old “all inclusive” model with a “bed and breakfast” hotel service which encouraged guests to use alternative dining options in the destination.
Finally, one of the main challenges facing the Calviá Beach Resort in the future is to contribute to improving and diversifying tourism facilities to help further extend the short holiday season in Mallorca, one of the principal problems facing the tourism industry in the Balearic Islands and Spain.
To further consolidate these ambitious objectives, Meliá and Katmandu Group announced today the creation of the Sol Katmandu Park & Resort to add a new dimension to the leisure experience for families in addition to the beach and sports facilities of a mature destination that still maintains its stunning natural beauty and very significant tourism potential.
As explained by Gabriel Escarrer, Vice Chairman and CEO of Meliá Hotels International, “After a first phase which focused on more exclusive leisure options and the lifestyle beachfront hotels created by Meliá, our company trusts that the new Sol Katmandu Park & Resort will continue to make Magaluf an even more attractive destination for all different types of visitors.”
