Thrilling attractions, interactive exhibits, diverse shopping options and delicious food & beverage services form the backbone of a great theme park, but they also have the power to turn states and cities into top travel destinations. Prime tourist locations such as Florida, Tokyo and Rome all offer lessons to companies looking to create a range of branded experiences that stand the test of time, while also innovating enough to entice customers to return multiple times. But like Rome, these things aren’t built in a day.
Achieving this level of prestige requires a heavy up-front investment from both builders and brand owners, but the payoff can be just as substantial. Themed entertainment ventures generate billions of dollars in revenue annually from families looking for everything from a day of fun to weeks of immersive experiences with their favorite characters and properties.
Could this concept of building a new tourism industry around theme parks, resorts and entertainment centers be repeated elsewhere? The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is certainly going to try.
The vision
Location-based entertainment (LBE) is a major pillar of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 program—a blueprint drafted by the kingdom to guide its ongoing economic transformation and steer all major investments, with the goal of creating a thriving economy and an empowered nation. Now in phase two, this plan has already seen the KSA’s Public Investment Fund pour more than US$13 billion into its homegrown entertainment industry.
Heading up this initiative is the fund’s Saudi Entertainment Ventures (SEVEN). Launched in 2018, this subsidiary is tasked with building, developing and operating 21 themed entertainment destinations in 14 cities across the KSA. And the call has gone out to licensors and kids brand owners that it’s time to get in on the ground floor.
“[SEVEN] is now fully under construction in 14 different destinations,” says chief attractions officer Damien Latham. “By the time we reach full scale, we’ll be employing more than 25,000 people across the portfolio, which will translate into tens of millions of Saudis enjoying a new genre of entertainment.”
The KSA is a pretty untapped market on this front, with American/European leisure mainstays such as sports arenas, ski hills and aquariums only having started to make their way into the kingdom in the last decade, Latham notes. Theater chain AMC just opened its first location in the region six years ago, and there are now more than 80 in operation, thanks to the rampant demand from almost 37 million people for more domestic entertainment options.
Undertaking any construction project in an unfamiliar territory can be challenging, and Saudi Arabia is no exception. In particular, the treatment of migrant workers has been a hot topic in recent months, after an ITV documentary that aired in October brought renewed attention to the plight of migrant construction workers in Saudi Arabia.
Kingdom Uncovered: Inside Saudi Arabia alleges that since 2017, more than 21,000 foreign laborers have died and another 100,000-plus have gone missing while working on Vision 2030 projects and building the infrastructure and stadiums necessary for the kingdom to host the FIFA World Cup in 2034. Saudi authorities deny these claims and insist the kingdom’s work-related fatality rate is among the lowest in the world.
Construction issues aside, Latham says another major hurdle the KSA is facing has to do with training and mentoring people for careers in the LBE sector. To meet this challenge head on, the Ministry of Tourism implemented new “Ahluha” training programs last year that are tailored to help individuals meet performance standards for a wide range of professions, including tour guides, travel agents, hotel workers and line cooks.
When SEVEN’s 21 projects are complete, they will cover more than 64,000 square kilometers, with at least 25% of this space devoted to licensed kids brands, says Latham. To that end, the company has already signed deals with the likes of Warner Bros. Discovery and Toei Animation to bring their brands to life. Locations will also feature an equal number of proprietary IPs, stories and characters when they begin to open their gates towards the end of next year.
“I’m hoping that the model we’ve developed will become globally recognized very quickly, because we are not a theme park, and we are certainly not a shopping mall,” says Latham. “Our projects are a carefully curated selection of LBEs with a beautiful public-realm space that knits it all together.”
The opportunity
Major toycos Hasbro and Mattel have both been chomping at the bit to establish a market presence for their brands in the kingdom. In 2023, Hasbro announced two partnerships with SEVEN to build three Transformers attractions and seven Play-Doh entertainment centers within the next five years, featuring rides, play zones, exclusive merchandise and themed food & beverage options.
The discussions between Hasbro and SEVEN that led to these deals began as early as 2018, says Matt Proulx, the toyco’s SVP of global experiences, partnerships and music. “One of the first elements we saw was how the KSA was hiring an amazing team of LBE professionals, and from there, began to build a great infrastructure that gave us the comfort that we could trust them with our brands.”
Early on in this discovery process, both companies conducted research to determine which Hasbro brands would best resonate in the KSA, leveraging months of surveys and the toyco’s performance data for its past LBE experiences to land on Transformers and Play-Doh as the best-positioned options for cultivating a family audience and attracting international tourism business.
Even without SEVEN’s attractions firing on all cylinders yet, foreign tourist spending in Saudi Arabia reached a record high of US$39.95 billion in 2023—a 42.8% increase compared to 2022. In total, the KSA welcomed 109.3 million tourists last year, comprising 81.9 million domestic guests and 27.4 million foreign travellers—the most the country has ever seen.
Its initial goal was 100 million annual visitors by 2030, so this market sector is developing way ahead of schedule—in fact, it accounted for 7% of the country’s total GDP in 2023. A new target of 150 million tourists a year by 2030 has recently been set.
“There is a huge population boom in the younger demographics, which is really important not only to Hasbro, but to the entire family attraction industry,” says Proulx. “Between 60% and 65% of the entire population in the KSA is below the age of 35.”
The region’s young families thrive on experiences and travel, making them a core target for many of Hasbro’s LBE businesses, Proulx explains. And better yet, these parents are willing to spend a lot of money to entertain their kids.
The KSA’s Vision 2030 program has helped the country develop a strong family-oriented culture in recent years, making it an emerging global hub for branded entertainment, says Julie Freeland, Mattel’s senior director of global live events and attractions. “We knew we had to be part of this journey. This is a market that’s eager for innovative, family-friendly experiences, and we’ve already seen strong fan engagement for our brands in the [Middle East].”
Mattel’s partnership with SEVEN will include the creation of Hot Wheels e-karting tracks in Riyadh, Makkah, Taif, Al-Madinah, Tabuk and Jazan in the coming years. Inspired by the toyco’s Hot Wheels City Experience in São Paulo, Brazil, these new attractions will boast many of the same features, including a multi-tiered race track and a dedicated retail area where families can purchase exclusive toy vehicles and merchandise.
In the last five years, Mattel has been making plenty of experiential moves in the Middle East to engage new generations of fans with its brands, says Freeland. In 2024 alone, the toyco launched the World of Barbie exhibit in Riyadh, sent Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live! to Abu Dhabi and Kuwait City, and opened a flagship Mission: Play! FEC in Abu Dhabi.
Freeland says trusting local licensees that know the region and its consumers best is critical to the success of ventures like these. This allows Mattel to smoothly navigate local regulations and on-the-ground logistics, and gives the company an opportunity to tailor its activations to resonate with families.
“Our local partners contribute deep market knowledge and operational expertise, helping us shape experiences that really connect with Saudi families,” says Freeland. “It’s truly a collaborative effort—blending Mattel’s creative vision with our partners’ ability to execute seamlessly within the region. Together, we’re delivering immersive attractions that excite fans and set new benchmarks for family entertainment in Saudi Arabia.”
Credit: Kid Screen
