Saudi Arabia is poised for an influx of leisure and entertainment industry players from around the region as the kingdom is tipped to become the sector’s leading MENA market by 2025.
The bullish forecast follows a survey commissioned by the organisers of the Saudi Entertainment & Amusement (SEA) Expo & Summit, in which 73 percent of more than 560 canvassed sector players stated their intention to launch a presence in the kingdom within the next two years.
The survey, carried out in partnership with GRS Research & Strategy, comes as global trade show organizer dmg events gears up for the third edition of the SEA Expo & Summit 2021 in Riyadh on September 7-9.
“The survey outlook report, which canvassed the entire spectrum of industry players and investors paints an exceptionally bright future for the sector in Saudi Arabia, with demand for new entertainment opportunities, Government investments, and increasing international tourism seen as the key business drivers,” said Sarkis Kahwajian, event director, SEA Expo & Summit.
The survey showed that 62 percent of MENA industry suppliers expect Saudi Arabia to be their top regional market in terms of revenues by 2025.
“The buoyancy of the Saudi market is driven by the mega entertainment and tourism projects announced for the kingdom which, when combined, add up to over an unprecedented $64 billion in investment. Also revealing is that 75 percent of existing venues in the country plan to refit or add new attractions at least annually, 38 percent already do so more than once a year, and 86 percent plan to expand and open new venues locally over the next three years,” added Kahwajian.
The list of speakers at SEA Expo & Summit includes Mohamad Attia, CEO of Sala entertainment, and Jerry Inzerillo (pictured below), CEO of the Diriyah Gate Development Authority.
Knight Frank said last week that Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 has resulted in close to $1 trillion of real estate and infrastructure projects being announced across the kingdom since 2016.
On the real estate front, Knight Frank highlighted eight new cities that are planned, mostly on the country’s western seaboard, along the Red Sea coast, where nearly $575 billion is being spent to deliver over 1.3 million new homes, more than 3 million sq m of offices and over 100,000 hotel rooms.
NEOM alone will cost an estimated $500 billion and is being positioned as a new vision for future cities. This new metropolis will use cutting edge technology to create one of the most innovative and sustainable places in the world.
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