DUBAI — Middle East and North Africa Leisure Attractions Council (MENALAC), the leisure and entertainment industry council representing the Middle East’s dynamic leisure attractions sector, are proud to host their highly anticipated annual conference and awards ceremonies which will this year be held as Virtual events on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2020. The MENALAC Leisure Entertainment and Amusement Conference (LEA) will bring together top industry experts and stakeholders to speak about the key topics affecting the industry currently in addition to panel discussions aimed at celebrating the Women in MENA Leisure, Supporting local manufacturers & suppliers along with a focus on key regional markets and their opportunities. The 2020 edition of the awards will feature 23 award categories, up from 20 offered last year, reflecting an expansion of the industry awards. The new awards categories aimed at manufacturers and suppliers to the leisure and entertainment industry will be as: Supplier of the Year, Best Product for Theme Parks, Best Product for Family Entertainment Centers (FEC) and Best Product for Water Parks. MENALAC are overwhelmed by the huge support for these events, with registration already open the demand has been extremely high indicating that the MENA Leisure & Attractions industry are feeling optimistic and ready to celebrate along with their peers in the industry. These events will reflect the positivity of the MENA Leisure Industry despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, despite this the MENA countries are going ahead with developing some of the most iconic mega mixed-use master-planned projects that are going to change the face of the leisure tourism industry in the region. Investment in mega mixed-use tourism projects to the tune of $810 billion (Dh2.97 trillion) will change the Saudi Arabia’s tourism landscape between 2020 and 2030, according to reports. Among these, the $500 billion (Dh1.8 billion) Neom leads the list of the mega projects — which once completed, will deliver a futuristic mega sustainable city, followed by the $10 billion Qiddiya Project, spread across 334 square kilometers in Riyadh. According to Statista, a digital industry intelligence service provider, the travel and tourism industry in Egypt is one of the country"s leading economic sectors, generating about 389 billion Egyptian pounds for the GDP in 2018. About 88 percent of the direct travel and tourism contribution to Egypt derives from leisure spending compared to 12 percent of business spending. By end of 2019, Egypt had welcomed 13 million visitors and achieved a new record in tourism revenues amounting to $12.6 billion. For the Leisure Entertainment and Amusement industry, these projects will create massive opportunities for the industry stakeholders, which will be highlighted at the LEA Conference. Silvio Liedtke, vice president of MENALAC, said, “I am pleased that MENALAC is on track to be hosting their annual LEA Conference and Awards ceremony virtually on Nov. 10. The conference provides a wonderful opportunity for all industry stakeholders to benefit from listening to the keynote speeches and panel discussions that will examine the current economic situation and focus on the business opportunities for our members. “The annual LEA Conference and Awards Gala will see the top players of the leisure attractions industry at one virtual event — interacting and learning from each other’s experiences on tackling the current situation and discuss business opportunities. We are happy to have so many people in one virtual conference.” MENALAC is the key representative organization for the entire leisure entertainment and amusement industry in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Our members cover a range of over 470 operations and 200 brands from over 22 countries in the MENA region in addition to Pakistan and Afghanistan, MENALAC offers great benefits to the industry as a platform for stakeholders to interact and stay informed. Rosa Tahmaseb, secretary general of MENALAC, said, “The LEA Conference that will focus on the future business opportunities and new projects, it is a must-attend event for the industry stakeholders and I urge everyone in the industry to register for this free event. “The leisure industry in the Middle East is undergoing a major shift with massive investment coming in amusement parks and large scale mixed use developments that will help boost the industry and keep the suppliers and contractors busy for many years to come. “I am glad to note that despite the current situation, the governments of the MENA countries are going ahead with the development of a good number of theme parks, attractions and leisure developments that will expand support the growth of our industry and create a variety of opportunities. Regardless of the current COVID-19 situation, the future of the leisure entertainment and amusement industry is very bright. “I would like to take this opportunity to thank our esteemed sponsors for both the LEA conference and the MENALAC Awards Ceremony, their support enables the team at MENALAC to continue their brilliant work with regularly updated and fresh initiatives aimed at helping them across various areas of their business’s on a regular basis.” — SG