Middle East countries, especially the UAE, offer huge business potential for the entertainment and leisure sector. This is the sentiment of Capital Club Dubai CEO, Russell Matcham, who last week attended the first anniversary of the Capital Club Bahrain. Speaking of investment in the region in general, Matcham believes that the Middle East continues to play a prominent role in international business. However, while the focus is generally on the region's supply of oil and gas to world markets and the growth of its strategic global partnerships, he believes that the areas of entertainment and leisure should not be overlooked. “The entertainment and leisure industry continues to go from strength to strength with new, increasingly creative products and projects coming to the market,” he pointed out. “In fact, it is at the forefront of visions and development plans with offerings such as the new F1 track. However, there is also a need to after a population's day to day leisure needs and clubs play an important role in this,” Matcham said. “One of the main lessons learnt from the financial crisis is the need to diversify, and the UAE is doing exactly that. As such, despite the financial challenges faced globally, investments totaling billions continue to pour into the region as growth has remained strong due to diversification strategies,” he noted. “The region has forged a reputation as one of the most important and vibrant in the world, and the development and growth opportunities that the region holds can be of great benefit to those who want to invest economically, socially and culturally.” “GCC countries ? and the UAE in particular ? offer huge business potential in the area of entertainment and leisure. In fact, this particular sector is booming,” he further said. “There will certainly be a spate of new family leisure clubs opening soon. These clubs are an important part of the leisure industry as they look after the sport and entertainment needs of the whole family in one specifically designed facility”.
