Investment Highlights

Favourable UAE demographic and macroeconomic trends:

  • The UAE’s population grew at a compound annual growth rate of 8.8 percent between 2006 and 2013, from 5.0 million to an estimated 9.0 million, according to data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) World Economic Outlook Database, April 2014 and is estimated by the same source to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 2.9 percent between 2013 and 2019 to 10.7 million
  • According to the IMF World Economic Database, April 2014, the UAE economy is forecast to continue its strong growth, with real GDP forecast to grow by 4.4 percent in 2014 and by between 4.4 to 4.6 percent per year from 2015 to 2019
  • Dubai Parks and Resorts PJSC is expected to benefit from strong local demand as a result of this growth

Dubai’s location, significant existing attractions and strong tourist infrastructure position it well to benefit from anticipated strong tourism growth in the Middle East

  • The Middle East is expected to be the fastest growing region for inbound tourism in the world, with visitor numbers expected to increase by 2.9 times to 149 million in 2030 compared to 52 million in 2013, according to the UN World Tourism Organisation’s Tourism Highlights, 2014 Edition
  • As of July 2014, Dubai was the fifth most visited city in the world based on estimated international overnight visitors, with 11.95 million visitors, more than New York, Hong Kong and Milan, according to the MasterCard 2014 Global Destination Cities Index, a growth of 7.5 percent from 11.12 million visitors in 2013
  • Dubai is well-situated, with approximately 3 billion people living within a four-hour flight to Dubai, according to analysis performed by PricewaterhouseCoopers based on World Bank data and direct flying times. Many countries within this four hour flight radius (which includes the MENA region and South Asia) do not have significant leisure and entertainment attractions within a convenient distance, and Dubai is a convenient destination with world-class leisure and entertainment options for tourist consumption, particularly those with high disposable income who are likely to have a high daily tourist spend. For example, tourists from the UAE and other GCC countries have the highest travel spend per person in the world, with Emiratis, Saudis and Qataris spending an average of U.S.$3,280, U.S.$3,360 and U.S.$4,100 per person respectively, daily, according to the Arabian Travel Market
  • Dubai Parks and Resorts PJSC thus expects to benefit from Dubai’s established infrastructure and continued attractiveness as the Middle East’s most popular tourist destination

A differentiated and integrated multi-themed offering backed by a unique intellectual property (“IP”) portfolio:

  • Dubai Parks and Resorts’ PJSC multi-theme park approach and portfolio of IPs (comprising licenses from world-renowned brands DreamWorks Animation LLC, Sony Pictures Consumer Products, Merlin Entertainments plc and Skye Entertainment JLT, among others) is expected to attract and appeal to visitors from the MENA region, the Indian subcontinent and other major Dubai tourist markets
  • Dubai Parks and Resorts PJSC is planning to offer a range of ticketing packages, actively promoted by its destination management arm in order to maximise its appeal, the duration of visits to the theme parks and in-park spending

Proven and experienced management implementing a clear strategy of reducing project execution risk:

  • Dubai Parks and Resorts PJSC is supported by a proven and experienced management team with wide ranging experience in theme park design, development, operations, business development and marketing
  • Dubai Parks and Resorts PJSC has sought to de-risk its project development by appointing experienced consultants, reputable contractors, and attraction vendors, and imposing extensive pre-qualification requirements. As a result, Dubai Parks and Resorts PJSC believes it is well positioned to deliver on schedule and on budget before the end of the third quarter of 2016