‘Eduplay’ or educational play theme parks will be the spotlight at this year's Dubai Entertainment Amusement and Leisure (Deal) Show, which will be showcasing the latest edutainment-focused theme-park concepts, products and services from March 27.

Edutainment zones like Menopolis, Kidzania, Doha’s Kidzmondo, Dubai Dolphinarium and Mattel! Play Town have captured the region’s vision to transform itself into a sought-after family tourism destination.

Abdul Rahman Falaknaz, chairman of International Expo Consults (IEC), organisers of Deal said: “There is a huge demand for creative edutainment theme parks and FECs in the region. The eduplay concept is one of the most effective ways to educate today’s young generations or the digital natives as they are referred to now.”

Running till March 29, Deal 2017 is foraying into its 23rd edition and expects to witness an even larger gathering of key players and visitors in the amusement industry from the Middle East and Africa, US, Mediterranean and Asian regions.

Branded Entertainment Zones

Also cited as the next, in-demand growth space in the sector, theme park operators and mall owners are now seriously looking at ‘branded entertainment zones’ to attract discerning target customers across specific age categories.

Branded entertainment zones are amusement centres created around one central character – for e.g. the ‘Lion King’ or a ‘Lego character’ - creating a unique personality for the zone and attracting the captive audience of which the character already has a dedicated fan following.

Amusement Operator and Franchise Showcase

Deal 2017 will also unveil the ‘Amusement Operator and Franchise Showcase’ - laying the foundation for all stakeholders in the amusement franchising and licensing businesses. The exhibitors within the ‘Amusement Operator and Franchise Showcase’ pavilion will get the opportunity to explore other global markets and to enter, or look for expansion opportunities in the GCC markets through brand franchising, licensing and joint ventures. Participants can acquire new distribution and retail channels, increasing their customer base and growing their business.

Decision makers @ Deal

Traditionally, as high as 52 per cent of global visitors at Deal are top-level management, capable of making on the spot decisions on the behalf of their company. The figure is set to increase dramatically with Deal 2017 in particular exploring new markets such as Africa.
“The future looks promising for the African amusement sector which has reported a steady growth on the revenue forefront. Africa has been growing in terms of tourism and infrastructure. We are quite pleased to see new faces from Africa at DEAL 2017 and are sure that they will get to meet new contacts to expand their business,” said Sharif Rahman, CEO, IEC.

According to Forbes magazines, Africa will see new malls in the next two years where more global brands will find more space and better infrastructure. Also there have been key amusement parks in Egypt, Nigeria, Tunisia and South Africa.

Deal has shaped the region’s entertainment industry for the past two decades and testimony to this is the fact that exhibitors at Deal 2016 signed multi-million dollar contracts.

Deal, since its inception, has developed into the region's most anticipated and leading attraction for global and local stakeholders in the amusement and entertainment industries. The event will be held at Halls 1, 2, 3 & 4 at the Dubai World Trade Centre. - TradeArabia News Service.