MARKET REPORT: MIDDLE EAST
Qatar still has only one water park, however, which has recently opened a hotel on the site, though state funded Katara Hospitality announced in October 2017 that a new luxury resort with a water park and four-star hotel will be built on an island off the coast of Lusail to open by 2022.
Children’s educational play centre OliOli, Al Quoz, Dubai
SAUDI ARABIA A reported USD 64bn of investment in leisure and entertainment concepts is planned for the coming years in Saudi Arabia, with the aim of driving an increase in its already significant domestic tourism industry. An important facilitator that would further increase international tourism to the Kingdom is easier and more visitor-friendly visa regulations. Saudi Arabia, like many other countries in the Middle East, is also developing a more diverse, modern transport infrastructure with high-speed rail links throughout the region. As seen in Dubai, the investment strategy includes the creation of large, mixed use, theme park anchored resorts. The first of these is Al Qiddiya, a 334 sq km Six Flags anchored entertainment city south west of Riydah. Opening of the first phase of the development is slated for 2022. A total of three Six Flags parks, at USD 500m each, are proposed for the Kingdom. The development of new shopping destinations with leisure attraction anchors continues, with established operators always on the look-out for new concepts. Many of these, such as trampoline parks, have an emphasis on activity-based
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attractions. Majid Al Futtaim’s 400m long indoor ski slope, planned for the Mall of Saudi, is a good example of the gradual diversification of the leisure offer that’s taking place in Saudi Arabia and throughout the region.
QATAR
The current breakdown in good relations between the other member states of the GCC, Egypt and Qatar, which seems to be still some way from resolution, has impacted the leisure industry in the region during the last year.
Construction of KidZania Doha, located in the Aspire Sports Zone in between Hyatt Plaza Mall and Villagio shopping mall is now well advanced and is expected to open in 2018. Given that this will bring the number of children’s role play centres to open in Doha up to three, its going to be interesting to see how well they all perform given the small size of the market! Another mall leisure project that continues to progress towards a 2018 opening date is the 28,000 sqm, USD 300m indoor theme park Adventure Land at the Oasis Mall, part of the Musheireb, Heart of Doha project.
The new National Museum of Qatar designed by Jean Nouvel will now open in December 2018, but there is still no news of when the redeveloped Doha Zoo might open. Reports from recent visits to the site even suggest that the project is currently on hold.
KUWAIT
The leisure market in Kuwait is still primarily focused on the development of shopping mall attractions, but amusement park Kuwait Entertainment City will also now be expanded to include a sports park, water park and hotels, due to open by the end of 2021. In the meantime, Kuwait's largest waterfront leisure destination, which has a 1.6 km seafront, is expected to open in 2018. The USD410m, 30-hectares project will offer six different experiences including Al Kout Mall, which will house an Infunity Family Entertainment Centre and the first ever Q8 Karting, the largest indoor track of its kind in the Middle East.
OMAN
2018 is already notable in Oman for the opening in January of the country’s first water park, the 66,000 sqm Hawana Aqua Park in Salalah. A recnent visit to the site of the previously reported Majarat Oman water park in Barka, however, confirms, that this project has been discontinued with the resort hotel it was intended to be part of currently closed. Also due to open in 2018 are the 5,000 sqm Snow Park Oman and the 8,000 sqm
PARK WORLD Handbook & Buyers Guide 2018
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