MORE than £6m has been invested in three Dorset holiday parks ahead of the 2021 season.
Parkdean Resorts has invested heavily in its Dorchester, West Bay and Poole resorts as part of an overall spend of £70m across the holiday park operator's business nationwide.
At Warmwell, near Crossways, £2.5m has been invested to refurbish more than 60 chalets, introduce new luxury lodges, and to create a new ski lodge with an outside viewing area of the dry ski slope.
At West Bay, £400,000 has been spent on refurbishing the bar and restaurant and creating a new outdoor seating area for alfresco dining.
The Sandford resort, in Poole, has had a £3.8m cash injection and been given a major makeover. The park will feature new luxury accommodation options including the Durdle Glamping Village, which has 12 new safari tents for guests to enjoy, as well as a new sports dome, high ropes course, virtual reality area, bungee trampolines and dog agility course. Additional outdoor dining space has also been created with the development of a new covered outdoor canopy, and water activities including snorkelling and inflatable kayaking have been introduced.
Across the county, Parkdean Resorts employs more than 460 people and welcomed more than 100,000 holiday makers in 2020. In response to an increased demand for UK holidays last year due to the coronavirus pandemic, and an expected increase again this year, the holiday park operator is currently recruiting seasonal workers in Dorset, for roles across sales, housekeeping and food and drink.
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Steve Richard, chief executive of Parkdean Resorts, said: "Despite the most challenging of years, we’re continuing to invest in our parks, creating an even better experience for holidaymakers and holiday home owners in 2021.
"With industry-leading Covid-safe standards, we’re looking forward to welcoming people back safely to enjoy everything our parks and the surrounding areas have to offer.
"We know how reliant the local economy is on tourism, and we’re confident that we can help the region recover by welcoming holidaymakers to enjoy a well-deserved staycation in Dorset."
For more information on Parkdean Resorts and to apply for a seasonal role, visit www.parkdeanresorts.co.uk/
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