The rise and rise of sports tourism in the Gulf Middle Eastern countries are following a clever game plan by hosting increasing number of sports events

THIS winter, global sporting attention has centered on a new arena: Saudi Arabia's sand dunes are the cynosure of attention with a raft of big-ticket events. In December, heavyweight boxers Anthony Joshua and Andy Ruiz Jr faced off against each other in the Clash on the Dunes, a rematch of their June bout.
And for the first time in January, the Kingdom staged the Dakar Rally. The high-profile annual motor-racing event, formerly known as the Paris-Dakar rally, relocated to the Arabian Peninsula for the first time from its home in Latin America — with the trophy lifted by veteran driver Carlos Sainz and the X-raid team, sponsored by neighboring Bahrain.
In the same month, the port city of Jeddah hosted Spain's top four soccer teams, including Barcelona and Real Madrid, in the Spanish Super Cup, in a deal valued at €120 million.
The events add heft to a growing annual winter sports schedule around the Gulf. With one-off events such as the Paralympic Games and the FIFA World Cup as well as annual fixtures including the Dubai Desert Classic, the Dubai World Cup and the Formula 1 Grand Prix races in Bahrain and Abu Dhabi, the region's track record over the past couple of decades underscores its arrival on the map as a global contender for the hosting of marquee international sporting events.
It appears that the region's tourism boards have a new motto: host it and they will come. Tourism has provided a valuable route to economic diversification for the Gulf's hydrocarbon-dependent economies. Saudi Arabia, which launched a major tourism push earlier this year, hopes the travel industry will account for 10% to its annual gross domestic product (GDP) over the next decade, as part of its Vision 2030 initiative.
In Bahrain, tourism makes up 6.5% of the aggregate economic value at present, and the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority expects that contribution to swell to 8.3% by 2022. Sports tourism represents over 10% of the global tourism market, with international tourist arrivals of between 12-15 million generating a global turnover of over $600 billion.
The Gulf's strategic shift is particularly well-timed. The global sports tourism market size expanded by 32.34% in 2019, according to a report by Technavio, and is expected to race ahead at a compounded annual growth rate of 36% through to 2023. That's a total increase of $6,120 billion over the five-year period.
The World Tourism Organization (WTO) describes the Middle East and Africa as the world's fastest-growing sports tourism destination. The region has youth and money on its side: the WTO cites factors such as a young and growing population, a rapidly expanding middle class with high disposable incomes and improved event marketing.
With fewer hydrocarbon reserves than their neighbors, Bahrain and Dubai were the first destinations to recognize the appeal of big-league sporting events. From cricket and basketball to tennis and rugby, Dubai has shown how culture and entertainment can be key pillars of future economic success.
Similarly, when the first Gulf Air Formula One Grand Prix was flagged off 15 years ago in 2004 in Bahrain, the reverberations were heard around the world. As the first major motorsport event to be held in the Middle East, it was soon followed by attempts from other regional players — including Abu Dhabi, which has staged a Grand Prix since 2009.
And in an increasingly digital world, spectator sports are not only happening in soccer stadiums and on racetracks. The emergence and rapid growth of the e-sports industry has taken place in the Middle East as much as anywhere else, and is set to bring an estimated market value of $4bn to the MENA region by 2022.
As well as attracting substantial interest from developers seeking to harness the interest of the Arabic-speaking world, where the native-language gaming market is vastly underserved, the surrounding ecosystem is creating a major market opportunity for firms to appeal to professional players at the highest levels. Bahrain's recent hosting of the BLAST Pro Series global final, for example, saw teams from around the world competing for a $500,000 prize pot – attracting crowds of fans and millions of viewers online.
But the success of these events demonstrates another significant advantage of the Middle East's fast-growing sports industry. By funding top-tier sports on the global stage, countries across the region bolster their credentials as investors in success that is ultimately driven by precision and innovation. And at a time when the Gulf is firmly in the global spotlight, outward investment in such public-facing sectors shows that the region's economic ambitions span far beyond hydrocarbons, dispelling a common preconception about the Middle East.
Since 2017, for example, Bahrain has been backing a pro-cycling team in global contests; formerly Bahrain-Merida, the team will enter the 2020 competitive season — and the run-up to the Tour de France — as Bahrain-McLaren. Cycling has been called the new golf, and Bahrain on the team shirt shows the Gulf state's commitment to advancing elite athleticism at the highest levels. Similarly, the curiosity of motorsport fans was sparked by the presence of a Bahrain team in the Dakar Rally — an event which highlighted the natural beauty of the sprawling desert region in Saudi Arabia.
Together, these sporting associations are indicative of a Gulf on the rise with a genuine claim to a place alongside other sporting regions. With 1.8 billion worldwide tourist arrivals forecast for 2030 — and a possible 180 million sports tourists — Middle Eastern destinations are playing a long game on several fronts.