Reflecting on DEAL 2022: the Year of Water Parks

After two years of being apart, last week marked the first Dubai Entertainment Amusement & Leisure Exhibition since 2019. The show was a huge success, as we saw key industry players from over 100 countries all traveling into the United Arab Emirates. As a board member with MENALAC and the head of the events committee, I am proud of the team for packing in so many offerings to our membership. With a variety of events taking place and many of them occurring simultaneously, I wanted to put together a highlight of the week for those who couldn’t make it.

MENALAC’s First Water Park Conference

Before the tradeshow officially opened its doors, many of those in the aquatics industry gathered at the LEGOLAND? Hotel for the first-ever MENALAC Water Park Conference. Covering everything from safety standards to the history of water parks in the region, some of the highlights of the one-day conference came from Olivia Wyrick (Director, Water Park Operations & Aquatics, Qiddiya) and Nick Pawley (Director Maintenance & Water Quality, Qiddiya) discussing the differences in operations and maintenance and from the morning panel highlighting the history of the region’s water parks by Geoff Chutter (CEO, WhiteWater), Glenn Davidson (Advisor, Portfolio, Miral), Chris Perry (Executive Director - Waterpark Operations, QIDDIYA), and Scott Deisley (Managing Director, SST). The panel had the room up in laughter as they reminisced about the challenges of early water park days at Wild Wadi...?and how they each were Chris' boss at one point!

DEAL Tradeshow

Attendees racked up a few miles last week walking the tradeshow floor as key industry players from the Middle East, Africa, North America, Mediterranean, and Asia came together in the Dubai World Trade Center. Over 300 exhibitors from more than 40 countries participated in the event, which spanned three halls. One of the highlights of the week for me happened on the first day of the show, live from the floor, where I was interviewed for the Agenda with Georgia Tolley show at the Embed booth. It was so nice to be back at a live event and look around to see familiar faces everywhere, from colleagues, partners, and even competitors. The beauty of this industry is that we are competitors one day and partners the next, so it was great to be able to reconnect after so long apart.

MENALAC also simultaneously ran the CEO Conclave and Safety Conference during the show, providing educational sessions to attendees from 9am to 1pm. The CEO Conclave on Monday was especially interesting as the agenda was all about the changing landscape of entertainment, with panels around the outlook of what is to come out of the leisure and visitor attractions business (quick summary: it’s a lot of water parks) and regional perspectives on the industry overall.

Celebrating 2021’s Big Openings

Of course, the highlight of the week for many of us was Tuesday’s MENALAC Awards 2022 Gala at the Ritz Carlton in DIFC. A prestigious event celebrating the top attractions and new openings from the year, the fourth edition of the awards racked up a total of 134 nominations across 26?categories. The big winners were Farah Experiences, taking home four awards, including Best Unique Visitor Attraction, and Atlantis Resorts, taking home three awards, including Best Water Park and Best Day Out. Dubai Parks and Resorts also snagged a big win in the category of Best Theme Park for MOTIONGATE? Dubai, which recently saw an expansion with the addition of the rollercoasters, Now You See Me: High Roller and John Wick: Open Contract.

The Industry Continues to Move Forward

If there was any doubt before, DEAL confirmed that the leisure and entertainment industry is alive and well in the Middle East. As we look ahead to mega-events coming our way, such as the 2022 FIFA World Cup and the realization of Vision 2030 in Saudi Arabia, I can happily say there are some incredible projects on the horizon that I cannot wait to see break ground and share with you soon.

If you’re interested in staying up to date with the latest news and installations in the region, follow our team’s Water Parks MENA?LinkedIn page. Creating a hub for the industry in the Middle East, our LinkedIn page centers around building community and learning from one another to better the guest experience and help families create joyful, happy memories around the world. For more information specifically on WhiteWater in the Middle East, visit our website at www.whitewaterwest.com/en/whitewater-mena/.