Its trajectory resembles that of Puy-du-Fou (Vendée). The ZooParc de Beauval in Saint-Aignan-sur-Cher (Loir-et-Cher) crossed the 2 million visitor mark in 2022, up 25% compared to 2019. Far ahead of other tourist jewels of the Loire Valley like the famous castles of Chenonceau or Chambord, the Beauval zoo has entered the top 10 of the favorite destinations of the French, neck and neck with Futuroscope or Parc Astérix.
The inauguration, this Friday April 14, of the large South American aviary, without equivalent in Europe, should contribute to the continuation of the extraordinary ascent of this animal park of 44 hectares, founded 43 years ago by Françoise Delord, disappeared in December 2021.
From April 15, enter our new South American territory: the Great South American Aviary! Discover this new space suspended between “heaven and earth” populated by birds and mammals! #LaGrandeVoliereBeauval ???? ???? ???? pic.twitter.com/o28Wx6U7fD
— ZooParc de Beauval (@zoobeauval) March 29, 2023
1,500 employees
Overflowing with ambitions, his son, Rodolphe Delord, the current CEO, is firing on all cylinders, devoting, over the past two years, investments to the tune of 60 million euros to redevelop the south entrance, build a wildlife care center and waste sorting infrastructure, additional changing rooms as well as the aviary, in tribute to his mother, a great admirer of birds.
« We are going to take a little break but I still have projects in my head. says Rodolphe Delord, who started working for the family business in 1988 when he was just 16. “At the time we had 40,000 visitors and three employees. We now have 1,500 employees and we achieve a turnover of 70 million euros, ten times more than the most frequented zoos after us”.
Five hotel complexes, 2,000 beds
However, until the early 2010s, few people were betting on such a rise. ” In 2008, we made Beauval a tourist destination in its own right, with the construction of the first hotel. All the economic studies carried out said that such equipment could not be profitable in Saint-Aignan”.
Booking levels at this hotel, expanded the following year, immediately belied these pessimistic predictions. Beauval has even just opened its fifth hotel complex, bringing the site’s accommodation capacity to 550 rooms and 2,000 beds.
The lure of pandas
« The more we have enlarged our hotel surface, the more it has generated the creation of gîtes and guest rooms. Today there are 14,000 beds in the Cher valley,” assesses the CEO of the company, who was on the recent presidential trip to Beijing, during which the Chinese authorities renewed the pandas’ loan, the fruit of a 2012 agreement between Nicolas Sarkozy and then Chinese President Hu Jintao .
A pivotal date that brought Beauval into the big leagues. ” We then reinvested massively in large, huge installations: the hippo space, the new bird show, the equatorial dome and the cable car in 2020, the land of the lions…”, he lists.
Success irrigates the economy of the whole territory
As in Vendée, where Puy-du-Fou has left its mark on economic development, the development of the ZooParc de Beauval is carrying this rural and little industrialized territory ” well beyond the community, rejoices Eric Cariat, the mayor (without label) of Saint-Aignan-sur-cher.
The many construction SMEs, which benefit from orders from the fleet that are as large as they are regular, have reached a flattering size. ” For our projects, except for very specific know-how, we only take local companies. My architect who is from Romorantin has work for at least ten years”, exhibits Rodolphe Delord.
A ripple effect
Concierges or cleaning companies have flourished in the vicinity of Saint-Aignan-sur-Cher, which has 23 restaurants and around fifteen bars. New large-scale retailers are setting up around the park, while the older ones are expanding.
« When I was elected in 2014, I ran after traders to come and settle. Today it is the reverse. There are 8 businesses that are soon to open in Saint-Aignan-sur-Cher”, welcomes the aedile. Driven by the 1,500 direct jobs at the animal park, to which are added twice as many indirect jobs, the town is starting to gain residents again, after years of decline.
Real estate constraints
The economic development of this valley is however accompanied by constraints. To overcome the lack of housing, Rodolphe Delord has built 300 in the town and participates in building construction and rehabilitation programs.
« We are experiencing the same phenomenon as seaside towns. Owners earn more money by opening a gîte than by renting to individuals,” observes Eric Cariat, who has to face significant additional costs related to the treatment of household waste, sanitation or roads.