Leisure and tourism · Andalusia
A seasonal business that needed to make up for the loss of capacity and tourism caused by COVID-19 through online sales.
Aqualand entered 2021 with a digitalisation process already underway, which COVID-19 had forced to accelerate. The decline in tourism, capacity restrictions and changing purchasing habits meant that online sales had to make up for what could no longer be recouped through conventional channels. The challenge was twofold: to build the digital sales infrastructure that did not exist and to launch it in time for the season, with no margin for error and measurable results from the very first summer.
The challenge was to ensure that this collaboration strengthened the brand’s positioning, rather than diluting it.
The key decision was to treat digital transformation as an integrated system, rather than a collection of tools. The website, social media, digital advertising, email marketing and customer loyalty schemes had to work in tandem so that every euro spent on customer acquisition would translate into a direct sale.
Mobile optimisation was prioritised from day one, because the typical visitor to a water park — families, tourists, local visitors — mainly makes purchases via their mobile phone. A website not optimised for mobile would have negated any investment in advertising.
The integration of WooCommerce with the existing ticketing systems was the most critical technical decision — without it, online sales would not have been operational during the season.
The project began with the design and development of two distinct websites for AquaMijas and AquaVera, with WooCommerce integrated as a sales platform linked to the ticketing systems. The navigation was optimised for mobile devices and strategic pop-ups were implemented to direct traffic to the ticketing page during promotional periods.
In parallel, a commercial database for email marketing was built, populated through the purchasing process and community initiatives, in compliance with the GDPR. From this database, regular mailings of offers and promotions were managed throughout the season.
Social media ad campaigns were launched on Facebook and Instagram, segmented by audience cohorts — local families, domestic tourists, businesses and schools — significantly boosting sales results. A dedicated page was created for the digital version of AquaMijas’ loyalty cards for businesses and organisations in Málaga.
Local and national SEO positioning for both parks was enhanced through search-optimised content on the websites’ blogs, improving their visibility in industry-related searches.
A digital transformation carried out during the season that made online sales the main source of revenue for both parks, offsetting capacity restrictions with unprecedented growth in digital turnover for the company.
“We have made progress with Incógnito in digitising the business to adapt it to the needs of users and a market that will never be the same again following COVID-19.”
