A new report published by Euromonitor International for The Leisure Show Dubai 2015 forecasts that UAE theme park revenues will increase by 78% from US $470 million in 2015 to US $837 million in 2019.
The UAE is reported to have 5 theme parks under development at present including 3 parks within the major Dubai Parks and Resorts development: motiongate™ Dubai, Bollywood Parks™ Dubai and LEGOLAND® Dubai (2016); IMG Worlds of Adventure (2016); and Warner Bros. (2018) on Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island.
In consultancy firm Aecom’s 2013 Theme Park Index, no Middle East venue appeared in the top 25 amusement parks in the world, but experts predict that this trend is set to change.
PwC Middle East will discuss “UAE’s transformation into a world-class leisure and entertainment destination” as part of the “MEGA Trends” panel at the Vision Conference in Dubai in September, a feature of The Leisure Show 2015. Philip Shepherd, Middle East Hospitality and Leisure Leader at PwC said: “Globally, theme parks in Europe, the Far East and the USA, Orlando in particular, dominate the market. However, theme parks in the UAE have the potential to see over 18 million visits by 2021, versus Hong Kong’s 15m, where venues including Ocean Park and Hong Kong Disneyland and have previously dominated top theme parks in the world lists. With its central global location, and excellent hospitality facilities, we predict the UAE has the potential to become a serious rival to theme park world leader Orlando by 2021.”
PwC predict ultimate theme park success in the UAE will depend on collaborative working between the Emirates, hotels and attractions to provide a complimentary and complete offering for tourists.
