Merlin Entertainments Chief Executive looks at opportunities in Saudi Arabia
Merlin Entertainments Chief Executive Scott O’Neil has indicated that the operator of Legoland Resorts and Discovery Centres along with Madame Tussauds, SEA LIFE and the Dungeons brands, is looking at opportunities in Saudi Arabia while also planning to expand the company’s portfolio in Dubai.
From Qiddiya to Neom, Saudi Arabia is creating a series of giga-projects and attractions as part of the Public Investment Fund’s (PIF) Vision 2030.
O’Neil, in an interview at Legoland Dubai told The National that Saudi Arabia is a "very interesting" market as the kingdom develops its tourism sector and that he aims to visit Riyadh in the next few months.
O’Neil shared “we believe that there is tremendous opportunity there.
“You have a government that wants to build, that wants to transition from oil into entertainment and a tourist economy, they have the will, they have the means, there seems to be a lot of incredible attractions going on there – and it’s a reason that’s really interesting to us.”
Merlin Entertainments also has plans to expand in Dubai. On the emirate’s Legoland park, O’Neil advised “this is our highest-rated park in the world and that gives you a pretty good indication of what success might look like.
“This is a park we will invest more in. This region is still in the embryonic stages of an incredible run of growth and it’s nice to be at the forefront of it.
“[Dubai] is a city that does everything big, everything is grand – it’s the biggest, it’s the best, it’s the tallest, it’s the most shiny and that bodes very well for our business and bodes very well for tourists.
“This is a place you want to come to – it’s safe, it’s clean, it’s grand, I think there’s an attraction at every turn.”
Merlin plans to invest “billions of dollars” over the next five years with O’Neil adding that Merlin wants to create entertainment clusters in the 10 most important cities in the world by 2030 including New York, Shanghai, Paris, Singapore, Amsterdam and Dubai.
Image. Merlin Entertainments Chief Executive Scott O’Neil
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