Theme Park Hotels: Key for MENA Regions Hospitality Market

Colliers International highlights potential to create micro-destinations and capture MICE market. As the region’s major cities compete to become leading global travel destinations, the theme parks and resorts are playing an important part in shaping the infrastructure and attracting family visitors. There are close to 45 attractions and water parks in the region according to a report by Colliers International, with plans for several more, including the world’s largest indoor theme park, which is coming up in the Mall of the World development in Dubai.

The report also found that, while the Middle East region doesn’t lack amusement and entertainment centers, the concept of having the hotels or lodging facilities close to the destination is still underdeveloped.

Traditionally, leisure attractions have been developed to support existing hotel resorts in the region, such as the Aquaventure water park in Atlantis and the Wild Wadi water park connected to the Jumeirah Beach Hotel. Such attractions enhance a guest’s experience at the resort and this in turn increases the length of stay in the specific resort.

There will be opportunity to have themed hotels in and near upcoming attractions in Dubai including IMG World of Adventure and Meraas Holding’s Dubai Parks and Resort’s project in Jebel Ali, which will include Motiongate Dubai, Bollywood Parks Dubai, and Legoland Dubai.  

However, with number of major theme parks in the region, the developers and investors should look to build hotels in and around these developments to support the destination and capitalize on the constant flow of tourists.

Filippo Sona, Head of Hotels at Colliers International MENA said that, “Having the visitors stay close to the vicinity can extend visitors stay and increase the tendency of repeat visits, which generates significantly larger returns than from the Theme parks alone.”  

According the Global Research, the theme park hotels located within the theme park trade at an average occupancy level of 2 to 10 percent higher than the city hotels. Although, the theme park hotels generally target the leisure and family guests, but these hotels also have the potential of attracting the MICE groups if they are segmented effectively.

The Report also recommended four guidelines for theme park hotel:

• Proximity and access: accessibility to the city centre will have a direct effect on the overall destination appeal.
• Avoid over-theming when unnecessary: Be flexible and use ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ theming to manage costs while creating destination’s signature experience.
• Don’t forget the MICE: Diversifying the segment mix broadens the destination’s appeal and can soften the impact of seasonality.
• Target regional tourists: Theme park demand is driven by regional and domestic tourists, and it is crucial to align the design, facilities and theme with the Middle Eastern preferences.

Filipo Sona added that “Globally theme Park demand is driven by leisure guests, especially families from the regional domestic markets. It is crucial to target them effectively. This means larger rooms and more of them, mid and upscale hotels rather than luxury, with the right, mix of F&B outlets and facilities that cater to the domestic tastes and preferences.”

The report stresses that creating a theme that has the maximum impact on guest experience and a minimal impact on the costs.

Filipo Sona concluded that “There is genuinely huge potential for theme park hotels in the region. By observing global theme park hotels and their success factors, we are confident that these developments can thrive in the region. However the real winners are that pick the right location and broaden their appeal just beyond the leisure guests and control costs by taking a flexible approach to theming. It’s only a matter of time before we truly see a world class destination in this segment in the Middle East.”