Discovery Communications is hoping to entice some of its three billion worldwide viewers to a US$400m (€373m, £312m) eco-theme park resort it is developing in Costa Rica.
Discovery, which owns both the Discovery Channel and Animal Planet airing in more than 180 countries, will develop the 8sq km (3sq m) project alongside local firm Sun Latin America, with the park to open in the province of Guanacaste by 2020.
Costa Rican President Luis Guillermo Solis announced the plans, which will include rock climbing, hiking, diving and other adventure activities. The park, which will have a strong focus on biodiversity and conservation, is also likely to include a waterpark, Discovery-branded hotel and a number of restaurants.
Development on the project is expected to start in 2018. More than 2,000 jobs will be created during the development process, according to the Costa Rican government.
“Millennials are interested in more than lying in a beach chair,” said Leigh Anne Brodsky, executive vice president of Discovery Global Enterprises, who added that viewers will be able to “live out the lifestyle of Discovery beyond the experience of a TV screen.”
According to
Bloomberg, Discovery will limit risk associated with the project, as Sun Latin America will be taking charge of developing the park and managing it once open under a licensing agreement. The financial dealings for the deal have not been publicly revealed.
