We just got back from exhibiting at The Hotel Show Dubai - one of the most important and influential industry trade shows in the MENA region.
This year was a little different for a couple of reasons. Firstly, glamping in the middle east is about to take off. Interest in luxury camping destinations has skyrocketed in recent months and a lot of hotel chains, international events organisations and property investment groups are now looking to set up their own glamping destinations in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
For anyone who’s keeping up to date on the rapid growth of the glamping industry, it’ll probably come as no surprise to hear that we ended up speaking to well over 500 people – including representatives from some of the region’s biggest hotel chains, right through to landowners looking to monetise their real estate and private investors looking to make high-return investments with very little risk.
But it wasn’t just the burgeoning popularity of the glamping trend that brought people flocking to our stand: We also debuted our very own prototype glamping pod – purpose-built for Middle Eastern climates.
Boasting first-class insulation in the form of powder-coated aluminium tiles, a luxury finish that can be modified to suit your specific needs and all the high-spec amenities you’d expect to find in a 5* hotel, this glamping pod is designed to completely reinvent the region’s glamping paradigm.
It’ll give site owners operating in the Middle East a reliable, affordable and luxurious destination pod that’s capable of elevating their sites and attracting new patrons. Built on a galvanised steel frame, it’s also portable and designed to be moved around, giving you flexibility to rearrange your glamping site as it grows.
As you might expect, people flocked to see our ground-breaking pod. Once everyone realised you could actually come and walk round, inspect the finish and get a good feel for how it’d look on their land, there were queues out the door for the majority of the show.
But the star guest was definitely Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, CEO and founder of the Emirates Group, chairman of Dubai World and prominent member of Dubai’s royal family.
We were incredibly proud to play host to royalty and the sheikh seemed suitably impressed with our ground-breaking glamping pod – spending plenty of time looking round and talking to our CEO and founder Calum MacLeod.
Asked for his thoughts on our reception at the show, Calum told us that he was absolutely thrilled with the response:
“The pod was better received than we could have expected and it was a real honour to meet his highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum.
When we started building this unit we knew it was going to be a success but didn’t think one of the world’s wealthiest royal family members would be among the first through the door!
After a frantic couple of days, we’re now busy following up with everyone that we met at the show; arranging more detailed conversations so that we can talk through their plans and work out how to help them achieve their dreams.”
We’ll probably be busy for the next couple of weeks but we’d still encourage you to get in touch. Especially if you missed the show but have land, own a hotel chain that’s looking to break new ground or want to invest in a successful glamping site in Dubai or Saudi Arabia.
As the world’s foremost experts in glamping site design, we’re ideally placed to offer in-depth advice and/or consult on your glamping project. Get in touch here.
We will be at the Hotel Show Saudi Arabia 2022, find out more here