French theme park scoops three international awards

French theme park scoops three international awards

The Futuroscope theme park in France was recognised for the green credentials of its new space-themed hotel, picking up more awards than any other park

Futuroscope has picked up three awards – more than any other theme park – at the 2022 international ParkWorld Excellence Awards, the industry’s ‘Oscars’.

The Poitiers park’s newest hotel, with a space colony theme, received a prize for its environmental credentials.

The hotel is the first part of an investment programme by Futuroscope’s new owners which seeks to transform part of the site from a theme park into a holiday resort.

Job creation project

Built by the Vienne department in the late 1980s as a job creation project, Futuroscope quickly established itself as one of France’s main theme parks.

Visitors enjoyed futuristic buildings and hi-tech thrill rides, as well as a 360-degree immersive cinema.

Changes to local government meant it was difficult for the councils to invest as much as was needed each year for the park to retain its futuristic edge, and it was sold to private owners.

Ski resort business Compagnie des Alpes is the current owner.

The hotel, which has two-person bedrooms from €220 a night and four-person family rooms from €250, was built in two years, and opened in time for the 2022 season.

During construction, guidelines were followed on points such as installing high-quality insulation and reducing water use, meaning it qualified as an Haute Qualité Environnementale project.

Fully booked

Its 78 rooms were fully booked throughout the spring and summer season.

Read more: French tourism sector largely back on track after pandemic years

Judges praised the fact that the hotel’s parking spaces were all under solar panels supplying 130% of the electricity needed to run the hotel during daylight hours, with the surplus used elsewhere in the park.

In keeping with the space colony theme, guests are encouraged to use as little water and electricity as possible, and the hotel has a system to recover heat from shower water and from the powering of cold rooms used in the restaurant.

Waste is separated into 12 different recycling or composting lines.

The restaurant is also on-theme, styled as a canteen on a space colony, with food ordered on screens and delivered, in functional steel bowls, via a system of conveyor belts.

The park’s Tornado Chasers attraction also received two awards for ‘best dark ride’ and ‘best product innovation’.

The contest is open to theme parks in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Futuroscope said its peak season with 625,000 visitors in July and August was the best it has had for 25 years.

It hopes to reach 2.1 million admissions by the end of the year.

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