- Entertainment and entertainment market in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to hit $1,170.72 million by early 2000s: Renub Research
- The UAE government has announced plans to attract 40 million tourists a year to the country by 2040.
- With such growth prospects and the industry’s growing dynamism, the MENALAC Awards will recognize excellence in MENA’s leisure and entertainment sector across 29 categories.
DUBAI: Against the backdrop of strong growth prospects for the regional leisure and entertainment industry, the prestigious MENALAC Awards will hold its fifth edition on 15 March 2023 at the Address Skyview Hotel in Downtown Dubai. As in previous years, the awards ceremony will bring together regional leisure and entertainment industry leaders and innovators.
As MENA’s governing body for the leisure, recreation and entertainment industry, the MENALAC Awards have been recognized as the platform established to celebrate excellence in the industry. The awards ceremony sets new benchmarks for the industry by spotlighting the achievements of the participants, while also challenging them to continuously strive for excellence by implementing best practices, innovating products and delighting visitors.
Over the past five years, the MENALAC Awards have also become a meeting place for the biggest names in leisure and entertainment in the MENA region.
Commenting on the MENALAC Awards, Ghassan Assi, Chairman of the MENALAC AWARDS Committee and Chief Operating Officer of Trampo Extreme, said: “The development of leisure and entertainment in the MENA region has been phenomenal. From the world’s tallest to the fastest snow parks in the desert, From building world-class entertainment venues in the cities of the future, the MENA region has it all. Importantly, the industry has remained resilient through the difficult years of the past few years and is now on a clear growth path with regional leisure spending This year will reach the $609 million mark. The MENALAC Awards program recognizes excellence in this extremely dynamic, creative and competitive industry. What is more, the awards ceremony has grown and Evolving, and now respected by our industry, the trophy is a coveted keepsake.”
From People, Process and Product to Design and Technology Transformation and Safety and Sustainability, the 2023 MENALAC Awards will recognize excellence in 29 categories, including:
- best theme park
- best water park
- optimal forward error correction [Family Entertainment Centre]
- Most Unique Tourist Attraction
- Best Educational/Game Scene
- Best Sports/Adventure Entertainment Program
- Best New Leisure/Entertainment Concept
- Best Cinema Experience
- best day
- Best Integrated Leisure Destination
- Most Unique Marketing Campaign
- Best Corporate Social Responsibility Program
- Best Customer Loyalty Program
- Best Employee Engagement Program
- Most Innovative Technology Application
- Best Recreational Facility Design Award
- Best New Product/Attraction/Amenity for Amusement Parks and Visitors Attractions
- Best New Product/Attraction/Installation for Water Parks and Water Resorts
- Best New Product – Arcade, VR, Redemption and Novelty
- Best New Product at FECS (Rides and Attractions)
- The latest and unique concept attractions
- Supplier of the Year
- Best Innovations in Health and Safety
- Best Personal Security Achievement
- Most Influential Sustainable Development Event of the Year
- Best Agency Manager; less than 250,000 visitors/transactions
- Best Agency Manager; over 250,000 visitors/transactions
- Entertainment Personality of the Year
- Menalac Hall of Fame
Among them, 16 award categories are open to operators, 6 categories are open to manufacturers and suppliers, and 6 categories are open to both operators and manufacturers and suppliers.
Also, the MENALAC Hall of Fame Award category is closed for nominations. A category created to celebrate leisure and entertainment industry leaders jointly elected by the MENALAC committee. In previous editions, the MENALAC Hall of Fame Award has been awarded to companies such as Abdulmohsen Al Hokair, Al Hokair Group; Mohamed Salem, Al Othaim Leisure Tourism Company; the late Majid Al Futtaim, Majid Al Futtaim Leisure, Entertainment and Cinema; and International Entertainment Prakash Vivekanand of the service company.
The MENALAC Awards pride themselves on being uniquely positioned as the industry’s most credible entertainment awards, presented by the industry. After the nomination round for the awards has concluded, nominations will be judged and scored by a distinguished panel of judges according to specific set criteria for each category. The distinguished judging panel will be comprised of prominent figures from the regional and global leisure industry with an in-depth knowledge of the landscape.
Operator jury members will judge the non-operator awards and non-operator jury members will judge the operator awards. The Health and Safety Awards will be judged by the MENALAC Health and Safety Committee, while the Sustainability Awards will be judged by sustainability experts.
After judging, independent auditor UHY JAMES aggregates the scores to determine the winners. Shortlisted candidates will be announced in the first week of March. Auditors will also periodically review whether the award process follows established rules.
If anything, the increase in the number of award categories – from 27 to 29 – reflects the continued growth of MENA’s already world-class leisure attractions. As a result, the overall MENA leisure and entertainment industry is able to attract top-notch global suppliers to serve the market.
Commenting on the state of the regional recreation industry and the MENALAC Awards, Cameron Mitchell, Founder of Consult Middle East, said: “The Middle East has set international standards for outdoor recreation and experiences for decades. Wild Wadi, Ski Dubai, The Dubai Fountain and Sega Republic are just a few of the countless examples that have helped the region become a global entertainment hotspot. More recently, Museum of the Future, Ferrari World, Takenda and Brass Monkey have proudly innovated and grown regional entertainment experiences. Given The entertainment revolution that is taking place in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Middle East looks certain to set the same world-class standards for decades to come.The MENALAC Awards recognize industry success and honor excellence in experience, innovation, corporate social responsibility or health and safety It plays a key role in reaching new heights as an industry leader.”
-Finish-
Media Contact:
missonia
Upasnabaru Akumar
executive director
Level 41, Emirates Towers, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai, UAE
