BCN World, the new resort of the Costa Dorada

Salou. Costa Dorada. 01 January 2017. The BCN World project for Salou, Vila-seca and the Costa Dorada begins to walk this 2017, with the forecast that in the summer begin the public urbanization works. In addition, the operators pre-selected to develop it can already submit their proposals to become promoters of the new tourism initiative. They are the American Hard Rock, the Chinese group Melco and the Peralada Group.

A study by the Rovira i Virgili University (URV) in Tarragona has revealed that the start-up of BCN World can have a very positive impact on the territory, in terms of generation of occupation and wealth. The figures of this study are:

• Work: 12,000 jobs are estimated to be created during the construction of BCN World, and a maximum of 4,000 direct jobs once the new resort is launched.

• Visitors: The URV estimates that in the first year of operation of the BCN World, it can reach 2.1 million overnight stays, which represents almost 22 percent more than the current figure of the Camp de Tarragona (which includes the counties of Alt Camp, Baix Camp, Baix Penedès, Conca de Barberà, Priorat and Tarragonès). In total, it is estimated that a total number of visitors could reach 5 million a year.

• Economic impact: the study of the University of Tarragona considers that the spending of tourists visiting BCN World could reach 1,145 million euros per year, and the economic impact of the construction of the complex could be 0.7 percent Of GDP. In addition, according to the URV the total exploitation impact of BCN World for Camp de Tarragona would range between 3,900 and 5,400 million euros.

BCN World, a single project

BCN World is an unprecedented integrated tourist complex (CTI) in Europe, aimed at business tourism, events and celebrations that seeks to capture new markets and to seasonalise the current tourist offer of the Costa Dorada. The project includes facilities for conventions, congresses, fairs, leisure area and hotel capacity enough to cater to the visitors that are expected to attract the BCN World.

How will BCN World be?

The basic project of BCN World approved by a Comissió de Política Territorial i Urbanisme de Catalunya takes into account the following aspects:

• Hotels, casinos and leisure: BCN World will occupy 101.74 hectares and a maximum of 745,000 square meters can be built. Of all this space, 57 percent can be used to build hotels; 16 percent to leisure activities such as conventions, conventions, theater and shows; 6.7 percent for shops and 4 percent for casinos and gambling areas.

• Maximum height: The maximum height of any BCN World construction allowed is 75 meters high, just like the Shambala attraction of PortAventura World.
  

• Renewable energy: energy efficiency and environmental sustainability is another requirement for the BCN World project, so all hotel and commercial buildings must have an energy certification A. In addition, all electricity used must have a source 100 % Renewable and 40% of the energy for the air conditioning will also have to come from renewable sources.

• Green areas: The project will create a large park of 50 hectares in front of the Raval de Mar, forming a vegetal facade that will communicate with the urban nucleus of Salou. This park integrates the free spaces in front of the petrochemical complex of Tarragona and the patrimonial elements of the Tower of Mas Carboneros and Torre d'en Dolça. Likewise, it gives continuity to the Plan of Spaces of Natural Interest (PEIN) of the Acequia Mayor of Vila-seca. The urban project of BCN World also includes other environmental actions.

• Communications: BCN World's urban plan also provides several alternatives to solve road access from AP7 and A7, and also proposes to enable different roads to separate the traffic of goods from PortAventura World from those of BCN World. In addition, it is planned to transform the last section of the C31b into an urban road, integrating into the urban structure of Salou, and creating a network of pedestrian and bicycle routes and promoting public transport.

The current facilities of the Recreation and Tourism Center where BCN World will be integrated has PortAventura World in the center, and already constitute a pole of attraction in itself, with four million annual visitors. This is one of the great economic engines of Camp de Tarragona, the second largest metropolitan area in Catalonia, which will now receive a new boost with the BCN World tourist complex.

Before the project of BCN World, the mayors of Salou, Pere Granados, and Vila-seca, Josep Poblet, have expressed their satisfaction for the approval of the urban plan that will govern the construction and start-up of this tourist complex, for the social and economic benefits for these two populations and for the whole of the Costa Dorada.

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