Dubai, UAE: The UAE’s target of attracting 40 million tourist visits by 2030, and its subsequent economic contribution of AED 450 billion ($123 billion) to the country’s national GDP, will further boost the leisure and entertainment (L&E) sectors of both the nation and the region, Fever, the leading global live-entertainment discovery platform, cites in its latest report.
The L&E sector in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) currently generates approximately AED 30 billion ($8.2 billion) in revenue.
Countries like the UAE and Saudi Arabia (KSA), among others in the Middle East, have invested heavily in tourism infrastructure and marketing campaigns to attract tourists from all over the world and this has elevated the region’s stature to become a globally renowned touristic destination.
The UAE is seeing its efforts bear fruit in recent years as it was named the world’s top destination in 2022 for international traveller expenditure. The country raked in approximately AED 108 billion ($29.42 billion), nearly doubling Doha’s AED 62 billion ($16.79 billion). The UAE’s momentum holds steady as it welcomed 4.7 million tourists in the first quarter of 2023.
After being ranked 13th globally as one of the most visited countries by international tourists in 2022, KSA has already seen 7.8 million tourists in the first three months of this year alone]; the kingdom is well poised to surpass its 2019 visitor count of 17.5 million people and this has helped garner its recognition as the world’s fastest-growing tourism destination.
According to the report, this influx of visitors has fueled the demand for L&E offerings in MENA. “Tourism brings in significant revenue and contributes to the overall economic growth of a country, and this is being seen first-hand in countries like the UAE where tourist spending increased by 70% last year,” Rachid Laurent Elameri, General Manager of Fever Middle East said “The money spent by tourists on accommodation, dining, transportation, shopping, and entertainment activities directly stimulates the local economy”.
“This financial infusion creates opportunities for businesses to invest in the development and expansion of leisure and entertainment offerings. Companies in Dubai who participate in pushing this agenda forward will accordingly help the emirate maintain its world-leading position across all industries, and especially in the space of L&E,” he added.