Could UAE rival Orlando as Leisure and Entertainment Destination?

UAE’s Leisure and Entertainment potential market is expected to nearly double over the next 6 years. It will consist of three main visitor categories; international tourists staying in hotels, international VFR (visitors to friends and relatives) and UAE residents who are income qualified and willing to drive. With inbound tourists forecast to reach over 30 million by 2021, and a growing UAE population, PwC researches expect the Leisure and Entertainment potential market to reach 45 million by this time.

In the next three years, the UAE landscape is set to expand further with the addition of at least four full scale theme parks.

The key to a consistently successful destination is enabling visitors to enjoy multiple attractions. Offering multi-park tickets, all inclusive packages and coordinated visitor management from booking through inbound and local transportation, hotels and attractions will be crucial. For example, Dubai Parks & Resorts (DPR) is creating a three park destination, with space for a further four, plus adjacent hotel, restaurants and waterpark which provides an excellent foundation to deliver this visitor promise.

PwC forecast that the UAE attractions can achieve 18 million theme park visits by 2021, in comparison to Singapore’s at 6.7 million and Hong Kong’s at 15 million today.

As a matter of fact, UAE overall already has many of the enablers in place. however, the ultimate success will depend upon other factors such as the quality of experiences and attractions. Purely relying on well-known brands will not be sufficient to build a “must go to” reputation. Moreover, to build a reputation of a major Leisure and Entertainment destination takes many years and substantial funding.