Marc Coucke has opened the new Wildwood adventure zone in Durbuy, an extension of the Adventure Valley park. The entrepreneur invests more than 2 million euros.
Source: Belga
With the new zone, Adventure Valley wants to appeal to a broader audience. “We saw that some visitors want to feel the adrenaline, but do not necessarily want to hang between the trees with a harness,” says Coucke. “Now everyone can do their thing here: from daredevils to daredevils, from young to not so young.”
Forest Trail
There is now the Forest Trail, an elevated treetop walk of 350 meters. Visitors walk without a climbing harness in safe nets between the trees. The climbing forest was also expanded.
Central to the new zone is the Wildwood Tower, a 25-meter high wood and steel construction, including a free fall, a slide, starting points for zip lines and a viewpoint at the top.
Between the trees
Adventure Valley Durbuy today receives approximately 350,000 visitors per year. According to CEO Benoît Bronckart, the park is aiming for further growth with the investment, including among foreign visitors.
Coucke emphasizes that further investments remain necessary. “The old city of Durbuy is the smallest city in the world, you cannot continue to expand there. But here we can continue to evolve and invest in activities in nature. Not instead of the trees, but between the trees.”
84 people permanently employed
Adventure Valley permanently employs 84 people. During busy periods, approximately 200 more students and flexi-job workers are added. According to the company, 80 percent of employees live within a radius of 30 kilometers around Durbuy.
Coucke emphasized at the opening that profit maximization is not his main motivation. According to the entrepreneur, the project in Durbuy is “very profitable”. “With that cash flow we can continue to invest, renew existing activities and open new projects like today,” it says.
