The Saudi kingdom announced large investments in entertainment and a greater openness that favors international companies in the sector

The company is one of the largest in the world in terms of cinema, with global presence, so it took advantage of the opening that the Middle East country has to enter its market. It will be associated with the companies Al Tayer, lifestyle and luxury retailer in the region; and with Al Hokair entertainment company. The company announced that in the next five years they will create a strategic plan to position themselves in more than 15 cities in the kingdom. They will have Macro XE, 4DX, Luxury, Premium and Junior rooms for children.

Leer en español: La cadena de entretenimiento Cinépolis ha anunciado su ingreso al mercado de Arabia Saudita

As the United Arab Emirates has done, Saudi Arabia needs to think about a future without total dependence on oil, so it raises other options to diversify the economy, and entertainment is one of them. In addition to meeting the needs of leisure in the country, which was banned until recently, it seeks to attract visitors from abroad, currently receives an approximate of 18 million visitors per year, mainly for religious tourism, people who visit two of the Sacred places of Islam: Medina and Mecca.

But the Saudis have other plans, they want tourists who seek the entertainment offer of the kingdom, which aspires to be of the highest level to reach 50 million visitors a year. In football, the Saudis have already invested heavily in their local league, so they seek to develop other forms of entertainment with the same success.

For Latin America it represents a good opportunity in the field, Mexico has the CIE company leader in entertainment in the region. The Cinépolis and Cinemex chains, which are among the largest in the world, and Kidzania, which already has a presence in Dubai, can find growth opportunities in the Arabian peninsula.

For its part, the Saudi kingdom already invests in renewable energy projects in Latin America, of the global production of the company Abdul Latif Jameel Co. Latin America accounts for 30% of the total, thanks to investments in Mexico, Peru and Chile mainly. The opening of the Arab country can flow greater investments towards Latin America.

The projects of Mohammed bin Salman, the heir to the throne of Saudi Arabia, are well seen by a good part of the population, especially among young people, who look forward to seeing a modern Saudi society. The moderate Islam that seeks to establish has allowed the integration of women in the public life of the kingdom and society in general. This will is reflected in Saudi Arabia’s project to invest 64 billion dollars in the next 10 years to return to the kingdom in a world entertainment center, at the level of New York or London.

In addition to the ambitious construction of an entertainment city the size of Las Vegas, the Saudis will build an opera house, the first in the kingdom, cinemas, theaters and other places for leisure. For Cinépolis it has been a great opportunity, it will compete with the American AMC Entertainment that already inaugurated its first room. For the first time in more than three decades, the Saudis will have access to public film screenings, as happens in most of the world.

Latin American Post | Luis Ángel Hernández

Translated from “La cadena de entretenimiento Cinépolis ha anunciado su ingreso al mercado de Arabia Saudita”