MENA Entertainment and Attraction Industry success will be data driven

The Middle East and North Africa Attraction, Entertainment and Leisure Industry success will be data driven according to the Middle East and North Africa Leisure and Attraction Council (MENALAC) – a statement made ahead of the release of its second MENA Leisure Report.

Following the success of its inaugural edition, the second edition of the MENA Leisure Report is set for release towards the second quarter of 2025.

Prakash Vivekanand, a Founding Member and former Board Member of MENALAC, who spearheaded the first edition of the report, noted “Importantly, the Report will highlight the health of our industry to benchmark current performance versus expected growth in the future. Investors will be able to feel the pulse of the sector based on ground realities. The Report will also serve as a reference point for industry insiders to get inspired by innovations, while spotting gaps to be filled.”

Not just a collector’s edition, the upcoming Report promises to be a go-to source of knowledge, which is being curated by industry, for the industry. Going by the initial responses and the increasing demand for the Report, it will be a valued keepsake, just like the previous edition. 

Vivekanand added “It is my privilege and honour to drive a knowledge-centric initiative like the MENA Leisure Report. Today, data drives decisions and with the upcoming Report we are keen to support leisure and entertainment businesses to stay on the path of innovation and profitability. With the support of the industry our aim will be to produce a collector’s publication that will house relevant data required for the development and success of our industry.”

Staying with data, according to experts, the MENA region is set for a robust tourism outlook. For perspective, the UAE aims to welcome 40 million hotel guests as part of its Tourism Strategy 2031, encouraging investments in related tourism sectors. Plans include investing US$27 billion to diversify the country’s existing leisure and entertainment offerings. As an example, Abu Dhabi based Miral that specialises in creating immersive experiences is slated to invest approximately US$3.5 billion on existing and upcoming projects on Yas Island.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is also set to witness unprecedented growth of its entertainment sector. The Saudi Entertainment Ventures (SEVEN) – a Public Investment Fund (PIF) owned company – alone has committed to invest US$13 billion to create 21 entertainment destinations across the Kingdom.

Qatar is also ramping up its entertainment offerings. After the recent opening of the Meryal water park, the upcoming Simaisma Project (concept pictured above), to be spread across 8 million square metres, will house an expansive theme park, an 18-hole golf course and luxury resorts, among several other offerings.

Add to this mix, growing cinema revenues and proliferation of formats such as cultural and heritage sites, making the landscape increasingly vibrant. Another important fact that can’t be overlooked is the entry of Generation Z into the workforce, thereby redefining the industry with their skills, expectations and discretionary spending.

Against this backdrop, the upcoming 250-page second edition of the MENA Leisure Report will be a compelling piece of work enriched by input from authoritative voices from the regional leisure & entertainment industry. The Report will not only highlight sectoral trends, innovations and developments, but also offer an in-depth evaluation of factors that have the potential to make this industry even more exciting. Including opinion pieces, country reports, interviews, hard-to-find data, statistics and analytics, as well as MENALAC member details, the MENA Leisure Report will be a keepsake. For a constantly evolving industry driven by technological innovation, accelerated by changing visitor expectations and propelled by intensifying competition, the Report will serve as a go-to document.

To be distributed among aligned government departments, tourism boards, regulatory authorities, Chambers of Commerce in the MENA region, investment and finance institutions, real estate entities, leisure and architectural consultants, as well as key global players, research institutes and media the second edition of the MENA Leisure Report is an unmissable opportunity for regional operators and MENALAC members to showcase their works.

“The second edition of the MENA Leisure Report is necessary for the industry to measure what’s going on, while acting as a barometer to attract new concepts and ideas,” Vivekanand concluded. 

Image top. Yas Water World Credit: WhiteWater; image above: Qatar Simaisma Project