As we announced last May at the conclusion of the prior negotiations, next summer the French company Puy du Fou will start the construction works on its new theme park in Toledo, which will be dedicated to the history of Spain. More details of the project are becoming known: it will be located on a site of over 159 hectares, only eight minutes from the historic center, in a protected natural environment with streams and species such as olive, holm-oak and almond trees.

The buildings in the park will be designed to merge with this landscape, and will form several decors to evoke the towns and villages of the period they represent, from the Celtiberians through to the 19th century. There will also be terraced gardens, fountains and shady areas. The site contains a 17th-century ruin that will be protected and undergo archaeological studies.

Five phases

The project has a budget of 244 million euros, of which 204 staggered over five construction phases between 2018 and 2028. So 60 million euros will be invested from 2018-2019; 82 million from 2019-2021; 15 million from 2021-2023; 24.5 million from 2023-2025 and 22.5 million from 2025-2028.

The site will not take long to produce profits after the park opens, to judge from Puy du Fou's own forecasts. In 2019 and 2020, when only the nighttime show is operating, they expect to create 87 direct jobs and attract some 120,000 visitors, which, if this is the case, would generate profits in the area of 45.6 million euros.

The forecasts are even more optimistic after 2021, when the park will be fully operational and is predicted to attract 1,240,000 visitors, and have an economic impact of 234 million euros. It is calculated that this figure will rise to 1,800,000 visitors in 2028, with an impact of 324 million.

For the development of the project, Puy du Fou has hired a team of Spanish professionals to take charge of the architecture, engineering, hydrology and the care of the environment, among other areas.

When the park starts operating, it will provide direct employment to 87 people in its first phase, and the workforce will grow to 876 workers in 2028. To these must be added some 2,453 indirect jobs, according to forecasts by Puy du Fou.

Four reasons to choose Toledo
Before deciding on Toledo, Puy du Fou studied numerous sites around Europe for the installation of its first park outside France. The choice was based on four reasons: the historical legitimacy of key enclave in the history of Spain and with great cultural richness; its geographic location, only 55 minutes from Madrid; its potential for tourism, with over three million visitors a year; and the warm reception received by the company, who described the enthusiasm and professionalism with which they were welcomed both by the regional government of Castile-La Mancha and Toledo City Council.

The final project was presented to the regional government's Department of Public Works last January 8, so the company hopes to be able to start work this summer. The nighttime show will start up in the spring of 2019, and the park will become fully operational in the spring of 2021.

The first Puy du Fou theme park opened its doors in the south of Nantes (France) in 1977 with a mixture of history and spectacle. It currently receives 2.2 million visitors a year, and is one of the top 10 European parks and the second in France.