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Sarah Gain reports on the spate of theme park projects that have been announced around the region.

Worldwide theme park attendance grew 2.2% last year, with the top 20 US theme parks attracting more than 120 million visitors, according to the Theme Park Attendance Report published by the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) and Economic Research Associates (ERA) in July.

The report states that the global theme park industry as a whole experienced moderate growth throughout 2006 - undoubtedly good news for the handful of developers in the Middle East that have, in recent months, announced plans to undertake similar projects in this region.

The report puts total visitor numbers at Europe's top 20 theme parks at 59.2 million. Meanwhile, in Asia/Pacific 68.3 million visitors were recorded at the region's top 10 parks, an increase of 4.4% on 2005 figures, which the TEA and ERA attribute to the opening of Hong Kong Disneyland.

"In Asia, the [amusement park] industry is experiencing its fastest growth, geographically," the report states.

The Disney Corporation's parks remain the most popular in the world - the entertainment giant owns eight out of the world's top 10 parks, which saw a total of 112.5 million visitors last year.

Disney currently has 11 theme parks around the world and there is speculation that a development in Bahrain may be the next addition to the corporation's portfolio. Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who indirectly owns 10% of the Disneyland Paris operator Euro Disney, is reportedly in talks with investors about funding for a US $8 billion project, which would be based on Walt Disney's family theme park model.

It is suggested that the park would cover 16,000,000m² and could take up to six years to complete.

While the Disneyland Bahrain rumours remain unconfirmed, however, plans for a number of other themed destinations are getting underway.

Comic book capers

One US-based film studio that has announced its intended Middle Eastern presence is Marvel Entertainment. After two years of talks with UAE-based Al Ahli Group, the company has at last unveiled plans to open a $1 billion amusement park within the Dubailand leisure complex.

The development will feature characters such as Spiderman, The X-Men, the Incredible Hulk and the Fantastic Four and creative work for the project will take place in studios in Hollywood, Orlando and Dubai over the next four years.

"In 2011, Spiderman and the rest of the Marvel superheroes will take their first steps in Dubai," says Mohamed Khammas, CEO of Al Ahli Group. "It won't be much longer until children in Pan Arabia and the world can experience new and exciting rides with superheroes right here in Dubai."

The Dubailand project could be the first of several projects for Marvel in the UAE and the wider region, suggests David Maisel, chairman of Marvel Studios and member of the office of the chief executive, Marvel Entertainment.

"We are launching a long term relationship with the Al Ahli Group," he says.

Universal fun

Another US entertainment giant with its sights set on Dubai is Universal Studios, which announced its new Universal Studios Dubailand theme park earlier this year. The project's developer Tatweer has high hopes for the venture and expects the park to attract up to five million visitors to the emirate each year.

"[Dubailand will] contribute to Dubai's vision to attract 15 million tourists by 2010," says Khalid Al Malik, CEO of Tatweer.

"Of that figure, Universal Studios is expected to attract about 3.3 million visitors in its first year, eventually rising to five million a year."

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