www.parkworld-online.com Mohsen Saraji
www.parkworld-online.com Mohsen Saraji
experiences and secondary spending. When a destination operates successfully across different times of day, its infrastructure can create value for longer periods.
Programming can also introduce novelty
without requiring major permanent construction. A family might make its first visit because of a new attraction. Its next visit might be driven by a seasonal event. A group of friends may return for an evening programme, dining experience or festival without approaching the destination in the same way they did on their first visit.
This changes repeat visitation from a marketing issue into a design issue. If repeat visits matter, the masterplan must include places that can change.
The Middle East is making the transition visible
The rapid development of leisure destinations in the Middle East provides a useful view of this transition.
Yas Island in Abu Dhabi is one example. Ferrari World, Yas Waterworld, Warner Bros. World and SeaWorld Yas Island are major attractions in their own right, but they operate within a much broader leisure ecosystem that also includes hotels, shopping, motor
orsport, dining, waterfront
experiences and live entertainment. Visitors are offered stay-and-play products that connect hotel nights with access to the island's four theme parks and other experiences.
OCTOBER 2026 58 OCTOBER 2026 61
That is an important distinction. The lesson from Yas is not that every
amusement park needs to become an island-sized resort. It is that the guest journey can continue beyond the gates of a single park.
Qiddiya City in Saudi Arabia pushes the idea in another direction. Six Flags Qiddiya City and Aquarabia sit within a much wider city-scale leisure proposition. The East Village beside Six Flags includes hotels, dining and retail, while the
park itself promotes year-round events and daily entertainment. Aquarabia adds its own mix of rides, aquatic sports, shows, food and retail. Again, the significant point is not the record- breaking rides or the scale of investment; it is the relationship between the attraction and everything around it. In these models, the theme park becomes an anchor inside a larger leisure system rather than the complete system itself.
For the Middle East, where many destinations
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