Press Release

Demand for LET Digital Services to Upscale with the Expansion of the Tourism Industry Across GCC

The GCC Leisure Entertainment & Tourism (LET) Digital Services is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of around 9.79% in the forecast period of 2024-2029, cites MarkNtel Advisors in their recent research report. This is due to rising investments in the construction of indoor theme parks, aquariums & family entertainment centers (FECs), museums, and other tourist attraction places in the GCC countries. The majority of individuals prioritize visiting theme parks, water parks, theatres, and other leisure attraction sites while choosing a vacation location & new leisure activities within the region.

The growing interest of the population towards LET contributed by the high disposable income, has led to the establishment of various new places of adventure & tourist importance, further enhancing the demand for LET digital services. Moreover, with crude oil being the primary source of revenue in the region in 2023, the governments of the countries have been working to diversify their revenue streams.

The diversification of the economic sector for attaining sustainability & enhancing overall economic growth has stressed the need to take various initiatives to expand the tourism sector. According to Invest Saudi, Cumulative spending in the KSA entertainment sector is expected to reach around USD 58 billion by 2030, and total amusement park visits are estimated to rise from 6 million in 2019 to 21 million by 2030.

Similarly, the government of Qatar has set a target of achieving around 7 million visitors by 2030. Thus, owing to the surging construction of theatres, water parks, aquariums, zoos, etc., various companies such as Semnox, Platinumlist, Touristic Enterprises Company (TEC), Gantner, etc., have emerged to cater to the digital services demand from the LET industries, further states the research report, "GCC Leisure Entertainment & Tourism Digital Services Analysis, 2024."

Digital Marketing Services to Grow at a Notable Rate in the GCC LET Digital Services Market

Based on the Service Type, the GCC LET Digital Service Market is bifurcated into Digital Marketing Services and Sales & Support Services. Among them, digital marketing services held the maximum share owing to the increasing focus of the governments of countries like the UAE, Saudi Arabia, etc., towards attracting more consumers in the countries.

GCC countries have conventionally relied only on the oil & gas exports for the revenue generation. Therefore, in line with their vision of expanding & diversifying their economic resources, the governments of the GCC countries are increasingly laying out plans to lure more tourists to their country. The governing authorities like the Ministry of Tourism Saudi Arabia, The UAE Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), and others are spending heavily on digital marketing & are running campaigns such as Visit Dubai, Rethink Summer, etc., to engage more tourists, enhancing the share of the Digital Marketing services in the GCC LET Digital Service market.

Further, the government of the GCC countries has set the target goal of welcoming more than a million foreign visitors to their countries, owing to which they are likely to avail the digital marketing services to penetrate larger audiences, especially genZ & millennials. Hence, the Digital Marketing Services Market would witness remarkable growth in the forthcoming years.

The UAE to Seize the Commendable Share of the Market

The UAE held a considerable share of the GCC Leisure, Entertainment, and Tourism (LET) Digital Services Market owing to the high investment made by the country for the expansion of the tourism industry. Certain initiatives like Dubai’s Tourism Strategy 2022-25 and the UAE government's Strategy for Domestic Tourism aimed to attract domestic & international tourists to the country, thereby leading to the expansion of the industry.

This is done to develop their infrastructure & integrate digital services into their attractions to provide a comfortable & seamless experience to their customers. Thus, the continuously growing consumer appetite for the best travel experience & the booming development & opening of new leisure infrastructure to attract tourists to the country would accelerate the requirement for digital services in the UAE during the upcoming period.

Competitive Landscape

With strategic initiatives, such as mergers, collaborations, and acquisitions, the leading market players, including Semnox Solutions Private Limited, Viva Ticket Inc., Prologic First Smart Solutions, Platinumlist, VGS Ticketing System, Emaar Entertainment, Ticketmaster Middle East, Gantner Electronic GmbH Middle East, Convious, Vantage Technology Ltd., and Others, are looking forward to strengthening their market position.

Key Questions Answered in the Research Report

1. What are the industry’s overall statistics or estimates (Overview, Size- By Value, Forecast Numbers, Segmentation, Shares)?
2. What are the trends influencing the current scenario of the GCC Leisure, Entertainment, and Tourism (LET) Digital Services Market?
3. What key factors would propel and impede the industry across the countries?
4. How has the industry been evolving in terms of geography & product adoption?
5. How has the competition been shaping across various countries?
6. How has the buying behavior, customer inclination, and expectations from product manufacturers been evolving during 2019-29?
7. Who are the key competitors, and what strategic partnerships or ventures are they coming up with to stay afloat during the projected time frame?