UAE fitness market to be worth US$600 million by 2025

October 29, 2021

The UAE fitness industry is expected to reach over $600 million by 2025, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 10.9%, according to new research released to coincide with the staging of the Dubai Active tradeshow.

The figures released by Dubai Active media partner Ken Research also showed that member penetration in offline fitness centres is set to increase to 6.3% over the same period.

Online health and fitness market in the UAE is expected to contribute $36.5 million in revenue in 2025, growing at an annual rate of 16% while the fitness industry in the wider Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is expected to grow 19% in the next four years.

The research said that boutique fitness centres are anticipated to show the highest growth, rising from 1,600 outlets in 2020 to 2,600 in 2025.

Member footfall across fitness centres in MENA are also predicted to bounce back post-Covid with an increase of 2.4% due to major gym chains focusing on expanding services into sub-urban areas.

How the MENA region's fitness industry has bounced back from Covid-19 to full health

Digital fitness app penetration in the UAE is also seen increasing to 15.9% in 2025 from 9.8% in 2020 due to growing trend of online fitness training, accelerated by the pandemic.

The report highlights the resilience of fitness outlets in the Middle East post pandemic, reporting a 10% increase in memberships for on-demand and livestream group classes.

The research has also found that consumer awareness of exercise in the Middle East has increased rapidly with more than 25% of the population working out 3 to 5 hours per week in 2021, compared to less than 15% in 2020.

As expected, 55% more fitness app installations were reported during the first half of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019 as the pandemic closed gyms.

Dubai Active is the Middle East’s only international fitness, wellness and sports trade show.

The event is a dedicated platform for fitness professionals, that facilitates business development, networking and education and training opportunities.

In addition to its trade show, it features the Exercise Professionals Summit, Fitness Business Summit and Future Wellness Summit as well as a series of webinars.

Click here for more information on fitness industry/tead events in the Australasian Leisure Management industry Calendar.

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