The global growth of the entertainment industry will be driven by emerging markets such as the Middle East, report PricewaterhouseCoopers' advisory services senior manager Kate Simpson and senior consultant Amit Caspi following their latest study.
Over the next five years, global spending on entertainment and media is projected to rise at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.6%, from US $1.6 trillion in 2007 to $2.2 trillion in 2012, with emerging markets acting as the engine of global growth according to PricewaterhouseCoopers Global and Media Outlook 2008-12.
The forecast for the global theme park and amusement park sector remains good, with spending expected to grow at a 5% CAGR during the period from 2008 to 2012 - increasing from $24.1 billion in 2007 to $30.7 billion in 2012.
While the United States remains the largest market in this sector by size, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) is expected to be the fastest growing market over this period at 6.7% CAGR - with an increase in spending from $4.9 billion in 2007 to $6.8 billion in 2012.
The theme park market in the EMEA region is currently dominated by European destinations. However, the emergence of the UAE as a major tourist destination is the main driver for growth in EMEA.
With many major entertainment companies having announced plans to build theme parks in the area, the UAE - and in particular Dubai - is now becoming one of the world's fastest-growing tourist destinations with such projects expected to bring up to 15 million tourists to the emirates annually by 2015.
The current scale of anticipated developments positions the UAE as a significant emerging player in the theme and amusement park arena.
With companies such as Six Flags, Merlin Entertainments Group and Busch Entertainment Corporation entering the region, revenues are projected to reach $550 million by 2012.
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