The top water parks in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), from Therme Erding to Siam Park, can be found in countries across the region.
The attendance figures used here come from the TEA/AECOM 2023 Theme Index and Museum Index. The report is presented by Storyland Studios, a global experience design and strategy firm.
The 2023 report is the first since the pandemic to be based on attendance-based rankings. This reflects the first year post-pandemic to be fully free from restrictions.
It shares that the top 10 water parks in the EMEA region have set a new record for attendance. Visitor numbers for 2023 exceed the 2019 figures by almost 3.5 million.
Read on to discover the full list.
1 Therme Erding, Germany
With 1.86 million annual guests, Therme Erding is Europe’s most visited water park. The 185,000-square-metre venue houses the world’s largest thermal bath and spa complex. It is located north of Munich, outside the town of Erding. Before the launch of Therme Erding’s aquatic attractions, it served as a thermal bath facility.
Opened in 1999, Therme Erding features 27 indoor and outdoor slides spanning 2.7km in length. The majority of these were supplied by wiegand.waterrides, a leading water rides and attraction provider. Highlights include the longest tube slide in the world and a virtual reality (VR) waterslide experience.
“The other water parks and spas in Germany are very small,” Marcus Maier, Therme Erding’s general manager, told blooloop. “In my eyes, we are more an entertainment park, like Europa-Park or Phantasialand.”
2023 attendance – 1,860,000
2022 attendance – 1,700,000
2 Aquaventure Water Park, Dubai
Aquaventure at Atlantis the Palm in Dubai is the largest water park in the world and welcomes 1.8 million visits per year. The Dubai park is one of three Atlantis Aquaventure attractions, in the Bahamas, China and the UAE.
It features 79 thrilling slides and water rides. Its six water slide complex from WhiteWater was added in 2013, and includes a extraordinary range of features that are unique to the park.
17 of the park’s waterslides were provided by ProSlideTechnology for phase three of the recent Atlantis Aquaventure expansion. “The water rides ProSlide installed are second-to-none and are the perfect complement for our vision for Atlantis to be among the world’s best water parks,” said Sascha Triemer, VP of marine and water park at Atlantis, Dubai.
He added: “Their technology, innovation, and creative design have brought Atlantis to a completely new and higher level in the destination industry that could not have been achieved with any other water ride manufacturer.”
Aquaventure became the Middle East’s first Certified Autism Center (CAC) in 2023. Kelly Timmins, Atlantis Dubai’s director of marine animal operations and sustainability, said the CAC accreditation “emphasises our commitment to inclusivity and accessibility.”
2023 attendance – 1,800,000
2022 attendance – 1,500,000
3 Therme Bucharest, Romania
Therme Bucharest is one of two Therme attractions on the list, and reflects a global trend for hybrid wellness and leisure facilities noted in the report.
The immersive concept, pioneered by Therme, combines water park attractions and wellbeing treatments with art, nature and technology. For example, the company’s resorts offer wave pools and waterslides, as well as immersive art and botanical gardens.
In 2024, Therme Bucharest announced that it had received a record number of international guests in the previous year. This was accompanied by strong repeat visits from Bucharest residents.
“With an increased global recognition of the Therme concept, 30 percent of visitors to Therme are shown to be guests from outside of Romania,” Therme Group said in a press release.
2023 attendance – 1,520,000
2022 attendance – 1,200,000
4 Aquapalace Prague, Czech Republic
Prague’s Aquapalace water park occupies an area of 9,150 square metres, making it the largest in Central Europe. As well as the water park, Aquapalace offers a sauna complex, a spa and wellness centre, and a fitness centre. The water park is located in Čestlice and opened in May 2008.
The park features connected indoor and outdoor areas, with rides and attractions that include the longest waterslide in the Czech Republic, which is one of 12 waterslides. Aquapalace also has a 450-metre-long winding river, artificial waves, the Spacebowl attraction, and pools in three areas – Palace of Adventures, Palace of Relaxation and Palace of Treasures.
2023 attendance – 1,300,000
2022 attendance – 1,200,000
5 Tropical Islands, Germany
Acquired by Parques Reunidos for €226 million in 2018, Tropical Islands is an indoor water park in Brandenburg, Germany. Billed as the largest tropical resort in Europe, the 66,000-square-metre park opened in 2004. The park can house up to 8,200 visitors daily and features attractions including the longest double racer in the world and the highest waterslide tower in Germany.
“Germany is a strategic market for Parques Reunidos,” said Richard Golding, chairman of Parques Reunidos. “As well as representing a truly unique opportunity in itself, Tropical Islands also reinforces our market positioning in the country, where together with Movie Park and Belantis we will reach three million visitors.”
In 2023, the park added a new themed hotel, Ohana Lodge. Its accompanying social hub includes a restaurant and range of entertainment options.
2023 attendance – 1,300,000
2022 attendance – 1,150,000
6 Siam Park, Spain
Opened in September 2008, Siam Park is a 46-acre water park on the island of Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands. The aquatic attraction has been voted the world’s best water park, a category now merged with best amusement park, in the TripAdvisor Travellers Choice Awards for eight consecutive years.
Siam Park is owned by Wolfgang Kiessling. “What other parks do is theming,” his son, Christoph Kiessling, told blooloop. “What we do is different. We go to the country, buy materials and work with local craftsmen so that what we build is authentic.” He added: “We control the ride experience like no other water park in the world. We are not plastic fantastic – we are about sensation and emotion.”
Attractions at the Siam-themed park include waterslides such as Singha, Kinnaree, Vulcano and the Tower of Power. The Lost City by WhiteWater, a leading water park manufacturer, offers an additional 15 slides, towers, slides, bridges and water features. The Mai Thai River is one of the longest lazy rivers in the world.
In 2023, the park opened Saifa, a custom-designed Dueling PIPElineBLAST water coaster. This extended the park’s slate of ProSlide attractions, and continues the relationship between the two companies which has been ongoing since 2008.
Rick Hunter, president & CEO of ProSlide, told blooloop: “Saifa is very high energy. I would say it’s the most variable water coaster in the world; for every moment of this ride, there is something going on. You’re either dropping or boosting, or you’re turning right or left, or you’re spiralling – it’s got the same entertainment value as a roller coaster.
“This is a serious custom design of a duelling water coaster that uses every best attribute and feature that we put together.”
2023 attendance – 1,200,000
2022 attendance – 1,150,000
7 Rulantica, Germany
Europa-Park’s €180m Rulantica water world opened in 2019 with 25 water attractions, including 17 slides, across 32,600 square metres. Inspired by a fictional Norwegian island, Rulantica is the largest single investment in Europa-Park’s history. The water park’s centrepiece is the Surf Fjørd wave pool, while the Vinterhal ice palace houses most of Rulantica’s biggest attractions, all by ProSlide.
Vildstrøm is a wild river, while Snorri’s Saga is the name of the park’s lazy river. The Skip Strand adventure pool includes a sunken ship feature and water obstacle course, and Trølldal is a water playground and shallow pool inhabited by trolls. Rulantica has several themed F&B outlets, including the Tempel Krog swim-up bar, and various shops.
Jeff Havlik, vice president at Rulantica planner PGAV, a global leader in the planning and design of unique destinations</strong>&amp;amp;lt;/strong>, said the park represents “a huge leap in European indoor waterpark architectural design, guest experience, thematic storytelling, operations and functionality”.
He said: “Focusing on the guest experience at every turn has resulted in an immersive, thematic guest experience from the parking lot, hotel and water attractions, to even the support spaces like the locker rooms.”
Jeff Janovich, vice president of business development for ProSlide, said: “In terms of the level of detail, the storytelling and environment that they’ve created, this is on a par with Disney and Universal. Those guys have done it for outdoor water parks, but no one’s done it on this level for indoor parks.”
2023 attendance – 1,200,000
2022 attendance – 900,000
8 Aqualand Moravia, Czech Republic
Aqualand Moravia is one of two water parks in the Czech Republic to feature in this list. Constructed on the site of ancient Roman baths, Aqualand Moravia features swimming pools, a sauna and other wellness experiences, and various waterslides and aquatic attractions.
The water park is currently being renovated, with a new children’s pool, three new slides and a new water tower opened in 2022. The park’s High Five Master Blaster + Constrictor Fusion, pictured, from WhiteWater, won a European Star Award for Best Water Slide in 2022, 2021, 2020.
In 2023, it opened a WhiteWater AquaForms 300 modular aquatic play structure to the indoor park, extending its offering for small children
2023 attendance – 835,000
2022 attendance – N/A
9 Lalandia, Denmark
Scandinavia’s largest =”yoast-text-mark” href=””<strong”>tropical water park, Lalandia, can be found in Billund, which is known as the birthplace of Lego and also home to a Legoland resort. The water park includes slides, a wave pool and jacuzzis, as well as wellness experiences. Lalandia also has water parks in Søndervig and Rødby.
WhiteWater provided multi-level play structures and water slides to the water park.
ProSlide Technology Inc, an industry leader in water ride manufacturing and design, supplied several slides for the Søndervig location.
2023 attendance – 800,000
2022 attendance – 750,000
10 Nettebad, Germany
The Nettebad water park in Osnabrück, Germany provides a family-friendly aquatic experience. Waterslides here include a a ProSlide SuperLOOP dubbed ‘Sloop’, tube slide, funnel slide and launch slide, as well as a unique standing slide that lets guests ‘surf’ through the park. There is also an aquatic obstacle course and VR snorkelling. In an outdoor area, guests can enjoy a children’s slide and play area.
2023 attendance – 720,000
2022 attendance – N/A
