averaged 3.6% annually since 2010, supporting increasing demand for leisure experiences and a diverse range of attractions.
With rising incomes and relatively underdeveloped supply, Central Europe offers significant opportunities for attractions of all sizes. This opportunity extends to both existing local operators looking to expand or diversify their offerings and to new entrants looking to establish a presence in new markets. For international brands and investors, partnering with experienced in-country partners can offer valuable local insight and help to navigate regulatory environments. That said, price sensitivity remains a key consideration in many areas, particularly for larger, capital-intensive projects.
Southern Europe
Our Southern Europe grouping includes a wide array of countries stretching from the western most point to the southeastern tip of the continent and are broadly bound together by enveloping the Mediterranean. Climate (and perhaps some other characteristics of the peoples) is the obvious commonality, and most countries tend to have a greater reliance on tourism than other, more northern regions.
Gardaland, Italy
Observing the data, it is evident that total visits, and indeed total economic impact per head of population, is much lower across Southern than Northwestern Europe but not miles away from Central Europe. There are some of Europe’s biggest theme parks in Spain and Italy including PortAventura, Parque Warner, Gardaland and Mirabilandia but the beach represents a fierce competition to any commercial leisure development – this needs to be accounted for when projecting demand. Across the other countries there are fewer major parks due to a mixture of modest populations and less mature markets. At LDP we recognise there are untapped opportunities across some areas, including for instance Lisbon and Athens.
Islands
Cyprus and Malta, both islands, are also included within our Southern European grouping but should perhaps be considered in a different light. Island nations (and we should include Spain’s Balearics and Canary Islands within this sub group) are characterised by small populations outweighed by much larger international tourist markets. Attractions in these locations must pay special attention and provide an offer that appeals to
12 THE EXPERIENCE ECONOMIST: EUROPE EDITION 2025 | © LDP
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