Analysis Tourism Gulf water park market risks saturation as numbers grow By Valentina Pasquali February 12, 2025, 6:57 AM Dubai Tourism Authorities in Dubai require new water parks to differentiate themselves from others in the emirate Sector is crowded New ones need to stand out Largest planned in Saudi Arabia With the Grand Hyatt Dubai due to open a new onsite water park this year, the UAE and wider Gulf region will add to an already vast collection of slides, lazy rivers, splash parks and other water-based leisure facilities. There being so many is perhaps not surprising given near year-round sunshine and heat in the Gulf region compared with other regions such as Europe. Rapidly rising numbers of tourists, including from Russia, the United Kingdom and northern Europe, are primed for water play, even during the cooler desert months of January and February. “While there are already well-known water parks, the market has not yet reached full saturation,” says Fathi Khogaly, managing director at Grand Hyatt Dubai. However, experts say the sector is getting increasingly crowded, making it crucial for new offerings to differentiate themselves from the existing competition. In Dubai, local authorities are taking steps to ensure that each additional attraction brings “a new dimension” to the broader ecosystem, according to Khogaly. Opened in 1998, the Wild Wadi water park near Dubai’s landmark Burj Al Arab hotel, is among the earliest examples, and remains one of the city’s most popular. The future of Middle East tourism must be regenerative UAE ramps up cloud seeding to combat water shortage Foreign tourists to Dubai up 9% Atlantis Aquaventure, which began operations on Palm Jumeirah in 2008, is the world’s largest. Now Saudi Arabia wants to steal that crown: Aquarabia in Qiddiya, near the capital, Riyadh, opens later this year. In Qatar, the Meryal water park opened in 2023, boasting the world’s tallest slide. Kuwait’s recent revamp of its stalled Entertainment City project will also include indoor and outdoor water attractions. Many more such facilities, both big and small, dot the region, in hotels and resorts. “If you are the only gig in town, it’s a nice position to be in,” says Mike Rigby, executive vice president for the Middle East and India for Whitewater, a Canada-based company that designs, builds and maintains water parks. That used to be the case for Dubai, but no longer. “Creating Dubai as a leisure destination is helping drive leisure tourism, so I think that pie is getting bigger,” Rigby says. “If you have too many players, they potentially start to cannibalise each other.” WhiteWater has completed more than 6,000 projects around the world, including nearly all the quintessential ones in the Gulf region.
