Le PAL attracted record attendance on Monday, August 14th.
The amusement and animal park in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France recorded 13,200 visitors on the Monday – forcing the park to close access roads at 11.30am.
Arnaud Bennet, CEO of the leisure park, told La Montagne Entreprendre that closing roads was: “a difficult decision to make and hard to accept for those who were denied access to the park.” But, he explained, “this was the only responsible decision that we could take.”
In 2016 attendance was 595,000 – up from 575,000 visitors in 2015 – and making it the park’s best year. Le PAL is one of the top 5 most visited theme parks in France. It is also one of the top three most visited in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.
According to Bennet, 13,200 is the maximum capacity of the park and car park – and thus, “for safety reasons,” no more guests could be allowed inside. The park was left open until 8.30pm instead of the usual closing time of 7pm. “We had many testimonies from visitors who thanked us,” explained Bennet.
This level of attendance is exceptional for the park, normally only exceeding 10,000 visitors 4 or 5 times each season. Bennet also expects that this year will break the park’s attendance record and exceed 600,000 visitors.
In 2017, the park invested 2 million euros into a new Alligator Park hosting 22 Mississippi alligators. For 2018, a 10 million euro attraction is planned called “Yukon Quad”.
Image Courtesy Le PAL.
https://www.lamontagne.fr/moulins/loisirs/economie/2017/08/15/record-d-affluence-sur-une-journee-battu-au-pal_12516793.html
