Senda Viva plans to build the largest water maze in Europe by April 2006

26 september 2005
Newspaper: Diario de Noticias

It will cover 300 square metres and will have hundreds of water jets.

The maximum number of visitors expected in a full year is 150,000.

By 2006 Senda Viva aims to build the largest water maze in Europe with a surface area of 300 square metres. It will be located in the lower area of the park near the fairground and the sandwich bar.

The maze will consist of hundreds of water jets that will create walls. The jets will change direction every 30 seconds to create new routes. Given that tests made on a surface area of around 30 square metres have been successful, this attraction will be put into service soon for visitors to enjoy, although not a full-size version.

This is one of the most striking novelties that the theme park's team, headed by Michel Iturralde, is preparing for the new season. It will be added to last year's attractions with the aim of extending the number of facilities and thus increase the number of visitors, which was well below the partners' estimate last year when the park opened its gates to the public.

Balance of the campaign

This summer, in contrast, the campaign started "slowly but picked up", according to the management of the park. "We did not have a press campaign in July because we were carrying out building work, so fewer people than expected visited us. In August we did run a campaign when the building work was completed. Our forecasts have been revised upward and we have been 50% up in recent weekends. The trend is therefore clearly favourable".

According to the forecasts, the final figure for the season will be around 40,000 or 50,000 visitors, although things will "depend on the remaining weekends, and if the fairly optimistic forecast is reached then we will be satisfied".

Nobody denies that this year has been both difficult and crucial for Senda Viva. When it opened to the public it was not clear if the date was the ideal one - before completing the improvements - because building work had not finished. "We lost two months from April to June and we have had another two months with building work. This is why we said from the start that this would be a year of transition, whereas next year will be one of consolidation".

The world of theme parks

Despite this improvement, it is difficult to speak of making a profit in a theme park of this kind. "I hope next year will be a good one, I do not know if we will make a profit but we do believe that we will not make a loss", claimed Iturralde.

The Manager of Senda Viva says that few theme parks are currently paying their way, with the exceptions of Port Aventura and Dinópolis. Most of them because the investments are extremely high and they consolidate in the medium and long term". Iturralde nevertheless defends the validity of this type of attraction owing to the economic boost they represent for the surrounding community. "In this type of business you do not just look for financial profitability but also the social benefits as a factor that revitalises a whole area. It is a case of 100,000 or 150,000 tourists coming to the Ebro valley in southern Navarre. This is important, and even more so if we create almost 100 jobs during the season the theme park is open. It is, therefore, a large company that generates employment".

Costs and jobs

One of the ongoing management objectives in the operation of Senda Viva has been to minimise costs. With this in mind, and considering that the park is closed for five or six months a year, the aim has been to "get rid of structural costs, so we have reduced the permanent workforce by almost half". As a result, the number of temporary jobs has risen.

According to the management's calculation, in the 2006 high season around 17 people will be employed to maintain the structure, about 40 operational personnel, 25 people for maintenance (sub-contracted) and another 25 in catering (also subcontracted). This gives a figure of around 100. In the off-season, however, only two people are employed for reduced maintenance of the facility, plus another 13 veterinarians to look after the animals.

Despite the good prospects offered by the Patali company before the opening (visitor figures of between 270,000 and 300,000 were ventured), Iturralde considers that these numbers were "overdimensioned" and has consequently reduced his forecasts. "Right now an excellent objective would be 150,000, if we have a good advertising campaign and get the message across. I think we could reach 100,000 very soon, the difference will depend on investments and consolidation. However, talking of 270,000 visitors is Utopia and is not an objective".