Relax - Abu Dhabi to woo tourists with 'Ferrari' theme park

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A year after its first Formula One race, Abu Dhabi hopes to lure even more tourists with "Ferrari World" - a grandiose theme park that is the first of its kind for the iconic Italian carmaker.

Ferrari World Abu Dhabi announced on Monday that the park will open in 100 days featuring a record-breaking roller coaster ride meant to emulate the feeling of being in a Ferrari F1 car.

Sitting next to the futuristic Yas Marina circuit that hosted Abu Dhabi's inaugural Grand Prix race in November 2009, the sprawling complex will be the world's largest indoor theme park.

Due to open on Oct 28, little more than two weeks before this year's Abu Dhabi GP, it will be housed under a massive triangular red roof on the $40-billion (S$54.91 billion) Yas Island development.

"It is an indoor thing with an outdoor feeling," says Claus Frimand, the general manager of Ferrari World Abu Dhabi.

"You forget that you are inside a building because the roof is between 35 and 50 meters above you and there are no support structures, except the funnel in the middle and one row of columns," he adds.

Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates capital, hopes the park will help to draw tourists from around the globe along with several other ambitious projects including state-of-the-art branches of the Louvre and Guggenheim museums.

Ferrari World spreads over 86,000 square meters, while the red roof bearing the world's largest logo of Ferrari's prancing horse stretches over 200,000 square meters.

Among its 20 attractions are two roller coasters, including the F1-themed Formula Rossa which is set to be the fastest ever reaching a top speed of 240 kilometers per hour.

The second of the roller coasters, which stretch beyond the building's perimeter, features two tracks with Ferrari-shaped trains.

"The unique feature is that it has two tracks, two trains side by side and depending on the weight of the passengers, one will cross the finish line first," Frimand says.

Right in the center of the building, out of a big funnel which is the only area with daylight, visitors can experience the space-shot G-force Tower.

Elsewhere, a Ferrari California Spyder convertible takes visitors through Bell'Italia, a reproduction of the Italian countryside with model villages and tourist highlights like the lagoon of Venice, the Colosseum, and the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

A large replica of the Maranello factory demonstrates the manufacturing process from the design stage to the finished product.

Motoring enthusiasts will even be able to experience the inside of a Ferrari V12 engine in another ride.

Abu Dhabi hopes such features will boost tourism in the desert emirate.

"It is a good thing for the tourism in Abu Dhabi as there is not all that much to see," says Grant Salter, general manager of the leisure consultancy Grant Thornton.

"But in isolation, it is not going to drive a huge volume to the capital. It will rather create an additional activity for people who are visiting the emirate anyway," he adds.

Premjit Bangara, manager at Sharaf Travel, sounded more upbeat about the impact of Ferrari World on tourism, saying it will stimulate interest from neighboring countries where people are passionate about racing.

Another challenge will be profitability. "Very few theme parks in the world are financially sustainable," Salter says. "Generally the number of visitors coming in is never enough to cover the costs."

Abu Dhabi to woo tourists with 'Ferrari' theme park

China Daily, ANN | Fri, Jul 23 2010

The park will feature a record-breaking roller coaster ride that emulates a Ferrari F1 car.

Keywords

abu dhabi

ferrari

theme park