PortAventura theme park kicks off season aiming for 5m visitors

Catalonia's most famous theme park, PortAventura World, near Salou in the Tarragona area, opened its doors on Saturday for its 24^th season since it was launched in 1995.

The entertainment resort's officials are hopeful to attract more visitors than in 2018, when all-time best 5 million people got on the venue's attractions.

Part of the visitor figures has to be credited to Ferrari Land, a second theme park in the same resort dedicated to the Italian sports car brand, which gathered over a million people.

Last year, 36% of the visitors were international, and 54% of the bookings in PortAventura World's hotels were made by people outside Spain.

The French market was the most important one, with over a million visitors, with the British one being the second in the list.

Fans of theme parks will have a new attraction in PortAventura World this year: 'Street Mission,' an interactive experience suitable for all ages.

The seasons in PortAventura end when winter starts –but the organization does not rule out that the park opens all year round when the future Hard Rock entertainment and casino complex is built. Works are expected to start in 2020.