Spain Builds New Tourism City

The Las Vegas model, recently a success in Macau, is now under development in the desert in Northern Spain.

British-based International Leisure Development Group is building a new tourism city "Gran Scala" between Saragossa and Barcelona. The 6,700 acre site will feature 70 hotels, 32 casinos, five theme parks and apartments for up to 100,000 inhabitants. Additionally a large conference center, a shopping center, many restaurants, a golf course, a racecourse as well as museums and an opera house are planned. In total the new area will feature 80,000 hotel rooms. The opening of the first properties is scheduled for early 2014, but delays are expected. So far the hotel operators have not been announced.

A giant clock will center the project and the theme of a journey through time, highlighting 16 historical eras. Each historical period will be composed of two museums dedicated to the period, two complexes which will include a hotel and casino representing the historical theme. A visitor’s journey may start in Greek antiquity, continue through the Middle Ages, travel through the Renaissance era and explore the future. Five theme parks will be implanted at the heart of Gran Scala including the parks Spyland and Aquantica. The first will be a high tech park that combines the history of secret agencies and fiction with an educative and adventurous rhythm. The second park will be an homage to aquatic life.

Source: Travel Pulse, http://www.travelpulse.com/spain-builds-new-tourism-city.html