Sunparks
Encyclopedia
Sunparks is a European Brand of Holiday Villages from Center Parcs Europe
. Sunparks runs eight parks: four Belgian Parks, two Dutch Parks and two German Parks. In 2011 Sunparks will take over a third Dutch park from Landal Greenparks
.
, called Sunclub Groendijk. In 1987 they built a second park in De Haan
which would get a covered park centre (based on the idea of Center Parks), so it was suitable for all climatic conditions. From this moment they decided to exploit the parks under the name Sunparks. Sunparks Groendijk was from now on called Sunparks Oostduinkerke and the new park got the name Sunparks De Haan. In 1992 a third park followed in the Ardennes, Sunparks Vielsalm, and because of its success followed a fourth park in 1994, Sunparks Rauwse Meren. The director of Sunparks first wanted to let Sunparks grow to 10 parks, but he didn't succeed because of financial difficulties. In 1997 Sun International was sold, and the Sunparks brand was taken over by Mark Vanmoerkerke. In 2006 Roompot Holidays went into negotiations with Sunparks, to buy the brand, but they didn't succeed and after all Pierre et Vacances (the owner of Center Parcs Europe
) bought the Sunparks brand in 2007.
On 13 November 2008 Center Parks Europe
announced that they would continue with a two-brand-strategy: Center Parcs and Sunparks. This was an easy decision because Sunparks was inspired on Center Parcs. Center Parcs would contain the 5 star parks, and Sunparks would contain the 3 and 4 star parks. This meant that since 29 January 2009 the parks Loohorst, Zandvoort, Heilbachsee and Butjardinger Küste would be rebranded as Sunparks parks. At the beginning of 2011 the company decided to rename most of the SUnparks back into Center Parcs. Only three Parks in Belgium remained under the brand Sunparks.
At 23 November 2009 Sunparks announced that Landal Parc Sandur will be taken over in 2011. From then on the park will continue as Sunparks Sandur Drenthe.
Currently Sunparks is looking near Bellewaerde for the fifth Belgian Sunparks park. Also Sunparks is looking for some other sites in The Netherlands and in Germany.
On Sunparks website it shows that they have recently taken over sites in France too.
Center Parcs
Center Parcs is a European network of holiday villages incorporating a UK-based company, Center Parcs UK, which runs holiday villages in the United Kingdom and a sister enterprise, Center Parcs Europe, that operates in numerous locations in continental Europe...
. Sunparks runs eight parks: four Belgian Parks, two Dutch Parks and two German Parks. In 2011 Sunparks will take over a third Dutch park from Landal Greenparks
Landal Greenparks
Landal Greenparks is a European network of holiday villages, with locations in Belgium, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Austria, Germany and Switzerland.-Background:...
.
History
In 1981 Sun International opened the first Park in OostduinkerkeOostduinkerke
Oostduinkerke is a popular seaside resort in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The name Oostduinkerke translates as 'East Dunkirk'. The town originally shared its name with the French city of Dunkirk; therefore, in the 13th century, 'Oost-' was added to its name to avoid confusion with its...
, called Sunclub Groendijk. In 1987 they built a second park in De Haan
De Haan, Belgium
De Haan is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the villages of De Haan proper, Klemskerke, Vlissegem and Wenduine. On January 1, 2006 De Haan had a total population of 11,925...
which would get a covered park centre (based on the idea of Center Parks), so it was suitable for all climatic conditions. From this moment they decided to exploit the parks under the name Sunparks. Sunparks Groendijk was from now on called Sunparks Oostduinkerke and the new park got the name Sunparks De Haan. In 1992 a third park followed in the Ardennes, Sunparks Vielsalm, and because of its success followed a fourth park in 1994, Sunparks Rauwse Meren. The director of Sunparks first wanted to let Sunparks grow to 10 parks, but he didn't succeed because of financial difficulties. In 1997 Sun International was sold, and the Sunparks brand was taken over by Mark Vanmoerkerke. In 2006 Roompot Holidays went into negotiations with Sunparks, to buy the brand, but they didn't succeed and after all Pierre et Vacances (the owner of Center Parcs Europe
Center Parcs
Center Parcs is a European network of holiday villages incorporating a UK-based company, Center Parcs UK, which runs holiday villages in the United Kingdom and a sister enterprise, Center Parcs Europe, that operates in numerous locations in continental Europe...
) bought the Sunparks brand in 2007.
On 13 November 2008 Center Parks Europe
Center Parcs
Center Parcs is a European network of holiday villages incorporating a UK-based company, Center Parcs UK, which runs holiday villages in the United Kingdom and a sister enterprise, Center Parcs Europe, that operates in numerous locations in continental Europe...
announced that they would continue with a two-brand-strategy: Center Parcs and Sunparks. This was an easy decision because Sunparks was inspired on Center Parcs. Center Parcs would contain the 5 star parks, and Sunparks would contain the 3 and 4 star parks. This meant that since 29 January 2009 the parks Loohorst, Zandvoort, Heilbachsee and Butjardinger Küste would be rebranded as Sunparks parks. At the beginning of 2011 the company decided to rename most of the SUnparks back into Center Parcs. Only three Parks in Belgium remained under the brand Sunparks.
All Resorts
| Country | Resort | City / Village | Region/County | Year opened | Added to portfolio | Old name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunparks Oostduinkerke aan zee | Oostduinkerke Oostduinkerke Oostduinkerke is a popular seaside resort in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The name Oostduinkerke translates as 'East Dunkirk'. The town originally shared its name with the French city of Dunkirk; therefore, in the 13th century, 'Oost-' was added to its name to avoid confusion with its... |
West Flanders | 1981 | - | Sunparks Oostduinkerke | |
| Sunparks De Haan aan zee | De Haan De Haan, Belgium De Haan is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the villages of De Haan proper, Klemskerke, Vlissegem and Wenduine. On January 1, 2006 De Haan had a total population of 11,925... |
West Flanders | 1989 | - | De Haan | |
| Sunparks Ardennen | Vielsalm Vielsalm Vielsalm is a Walloon municipality of Belgium located in the province of Luxembourg.On 1 January 2007 the municipality had 7,339 inhabitants... |
Ardennes Ardennes The Ardennes is a region of extensive forests, rolling hills and ridges formed within the Givetian Ardennes mountain range, primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, but stretching into France , and geologically into the Eifel... |
1992 | - | Sunparks Vielsalm | |
| Sunparks Kempense Meren | Mol Mol -Places:* City Municipality of Ljubljana, known after the acronym MOL in Slovene language * Märkisch-Oderland, a rural district of Brandenburg, Germany* Mol, Belgium, a municipality in Belgium* Mol, Serbia, a town in Serbia... |
Antwerpen | 1994 | - | Sunparks Vielsalm | |
| Sunparks Limburgse Peel | America America, Netherlands America is a town in the Dutch province of Limburg. It is a part of the municipality of Horst aan de Maas, and lies about 16 km northwest of Venlo.... |
Limburg Limburg (Netherlands) Limburg is the southernmost of the twelve provinces of the Netherlands. It is located in the southeastern part of the country and bordered by the province of Gelderland to the north, Germany to the east, Belgium to the south and part of the west, andthe Dutch province of North Brabant partly to... |
1980 | 2009 | Center Parcs Park Loohorst | |
| Sunparks Zandvoort aan zee | Zandvoort Zandvoort Zandvoort is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland.Zandvoort is one of the major beach resorts of the Netherlands; it has a long sandy beach, bordered by coastal dunes... |
North Holland North Holland North Holland |West Frisian]]: Noard-Holland) is a province situated on the North Sea in the northwest part of the Netherlands. The provincial capital is Haarlem and its largest city is Amsterdam.-Geography:... |
1989 | 2009 | Center Parcs Park Zandvoort | |
| Sunparks Sandur Drenthe | Emmen | Drenthe Drenthe Drenthe is a province of the Netherlands, located in the north-east of the country. The capital city is Assen. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and Germany to the east.-History:Drenthe, unlike many other parts of the Netherlands, has been a... |
1999 | 2011 | Landal parc Sandur | |
| Sunparks Eifel | Gunderath Gunderath Gunderath is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany... |
Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz .... |
1979 | 2009 | Center Parcs Park Heilbachsee | |
| Sunparks Nordsee Küste | Tossens Tossens Tossens is a village on the Butjadingen peninsula in Germany, in the Bundesland of Niedersachsen.It effectively consists of two areas: the tourist section on the coastline of Jadebusen bay; and the original village which is further inshore.... |
Lower Saxony Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany... |
1992 | 2009 | Center Parcs Butjadinger Küste | |
| Parks in development | ||||||
| Sunparks Bostalsee | Bostalsee | Saarland Saarland Saarland is one of the sixteen states of Germany. The capital is Saarbrücken. It has an area of 2570 km² and 1,045,000 inhabitants. In both area and population, it is the smallest state in Germany other than the city-states... |
(2011) | - | ||
Expansion
Sunparks is developing the third German park in Bostalsee which will be called Sunparks Bostalsee. It's expected that the new park will open in 2011.At 23 November 2009 Sunparks announced that Landal Parc Sandur will be taken over in 2011. From then on the park will continue as Sunparks Sandur Drenthe.
Currently Sunparks is looking near Bellewaerde for the fifth Belgian Sunparks park. Also Sunparks is looking for some other sites in The Netherlands and in Germany.
External links
On Sunparks website it shows that they have recently taken over sites in France too.