User:Spy-cicle/drafts/Wolfgang Kiessling

Wolfgang Kiessling (born September 7, 1937 in Gera) is a German entrepreneur who is the founder, owner and president of Loro Parque in Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife. In 2008 Kiessling opened Siam Park, an adventure water park in the south of Tenerife. Kiessling is planning on building a second water park dubbed "Siam Park 2" for the neighbouring island of Gran Canaria. As of 2019, Kiessling has an estimated net worth of €290 million and is the 165th richest person in Spain.

Personal life
Kiessling is the son of a merchant family from Cologne and was a student in the elite boarding school of Schule Schloss Salem. Later in the 1970s he took over the management of a charter flight company in Frankfurt, often flying to the Canary Islands using the company's planes. Due to Kiessling being a manager he had the opportunity to roam freely. During his visit he "fell in love with the place: the people, always wonderful sunshine, the nature we have here."

He is married to Brigitte Kiessling and they have two children. One of which is Christoph Kiessling, the general manager of Siam Park.

Business ventures
In 1972 he founded Loro Parque. When Loro Parque was first opened it was only 1.3 hectares (3.2 acres) with 150 parrots; it has now grown to 13.5 hectares (33 acres) and is home to some 4,000 parrots representing 350 species and sub-species, as well as many other animals including controversial orcas. Kiessling operates other ventures in Tenerife including the Siam Park, a water park in Costa Adeje in the south of the island, as well as the Hotel Botanico in Puerto de la Cruz. With around 800 employees in total, he is the largest employer in Tenerife.

In 1994 Kiessling setup the Loro Parque Foundation, a non-profit organisation committed to the conservation of endangered parrot species and their habitats worldwide.

In 2008 Kiessling opened Siam Park, an adventure water park in the south of Tenerife that houses, among other things, the largest wave pool in Europe.

A second water park dubbed 'Siam Park 2' is planned for the neighbouring island of Gran Canaria.

Although according to Kiessling he has had difficulties with San Bartolomé de Tirajana as they not granted him the license to carry out the work to build 'Siam Park 2' and is "fed up with the continuous obstacles".

As of 2019, Kiessling has an estimated net worth of €290 million and is the 165th richest person in Spain.

Criticism
Shows with dolphins and killer whales (Orcas) shown at Loro Parque were criticised by animal rights activists. On 29 July 2018, Thomas Cook announced that it would stop selling tickets to Loro Parque over "animal welfare concerns", having been injuries to the killer whales and animal trainers, one of which was deadly.

Honours and awards
Kiessling is an honorary citizen of the city of Puerto de la Cruz on the island of Tenerife, and Consul General of the Kingdom of Thailand. In 1986, he received the gold medal of the bird journal Gefiederte Welt for the first breeding of the blue-throated macaw (Ara glaucogularis).

On 27 September 2000, Loro Parque was awarded the most prestigious prize that the Canary Islands Government gives in the field of tourism, the award "Importante del Turismo 2000" (Important Tourism). Román Rodríguez, president of the Government of the Canaries at the time, handed this prize over to Kiessling. This prize gives Loro Parque the gold medal for its contribution to make the Canary Islands a quality tourist destination. Kiessling was also awarded the "Galardones Amables del Turismo y Convivencia Ciudadana 1999" (Award for Friendly Tourism and Citizen Coexistence) by the Centre of Enterprises and Tourism (CIT) of Santa Cruz, Tenerife, at the same time.