It is full steam ahead for the construction of an incredible new waterpark on the favourite island of Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands among British tourists, to follow in the footsteps of the park already famous on Tenerife.
The ambitious modernisation plan aims to revitalise El Veril, boosting its competitiveness and sustainability while positioning it as a premier tourist destination in Gran Canaria.
In 2017, the already existing waterpark, Siam Park – found in the coastal suburb of Costa Adeje – on the incredibly popular island of Tenerife, welcomed a record-breaking 1.2 million visitors, a 20 percent growth from the previous year.
Opening to the public in September 2008 and costing £44million (52 million euros), Siam Park was voted Travellers’ Choice Winner Tripadvisor’s World’s Best Amusement Park for 2023. It has been the number one water park in the world every year since 2014 apart from 2021, according to its website.
The 46-acre waterpark has a Siamese (Thai) theme and was opened by the princess of Thailand, Maha Chakri Sirindhorn in 2007. Christop Kiessling, the designer, received permission from the royal family to use the park’s name and theme, but to respect their wishes, did not copy any of Thailand’s royal palaces, temples or statues of Buddha. The 25 buildings are the largest collection of Thai-themed buildings outside of Thailand.
Its rides include “Vulcano” – a four-person slide with a laser show inside a large bowl-like structure, “Wave Palace”, a wave pool with an artificial white sand beach and 3.3-metre high waves, the highest of any wave pool in the world, and “Mai Thai River”, the world’s longest lazy river with the highest elevation in the world at eight metres, which can divert to a lift leading to a side and viewing of sharks.
To conserve water, Siam Park has a desalination plant which removes the salt from 700 cubic metres, or over 247 tonnes, of sea water a day. This water is then recycled to water the park’s plants. The park is also home to the Canary Island’s first natural gas plant, so it does not have to rely on the grid for power, according to Holiday Hypermarket.
A second park is planned for Tenerife’s neighbouring island of Gran Canaria in the costa; area of El Veril. A unanimous vote by the San Bartolomé de Tirajana Council has led to the initiation of the drafting and processing for new Modernisation, Improvement, and Competitiveness Plan (PMM) of El Veril, the Canarian Weekly reported on June 30. This will enable the new park’s construction following intervention from the Canary Islands government.
The proposal focuses on three areas of action: the development of a “free area” with the necessary infrastructure as established by the Gran Canaria Insular Plan, improvements in public spaces and the creation of tourist facilities resulting from the implementation of these infrastructures, the news site added.
The project’s objectives are extensive. It includes ensuring the feasibility of construction as well as undertaking environmental, social and landscape rehabilitation actions to enhance the area’s appeal to residents and tourists.
It seeks to improve the area by diversifying and expanding its complementary tourist offerings, create jobs and ensure the continuity of tourist space. It also wishes to enhance the entrance image to the tourist hub, improve the road networks and incorporate new types of tourist accommodation and complimentary offers that align with more sustainable tourism models. Finally, it wishes to reclaim marginal spaces to optimise land use.
Hopes for the new waterpark are high, considering the waves (no pun intended!) of visitors taking to Tripadvisor to compliment Tenerife’s park.
One said: “The water slides were amazing and exhilarating and the grounds were lovely too. Be prepared to be wiped out by the wave machine!! There were virtually no queues.”
Another added: “Fab place, so much to do. Ideally would advise the fast track passes and a phone water pouch for photos!”
It is best to go early, arriving about half an hour before the rides open at 10am: “We paid €28 [just under £24] for the fast track each and it was definitely worth it, as the queues for some rides were quite big – however they did go down very fast.”