As it bucks the slowdown, is the Gulf market finally coming of age?

This was the clear impression gleaned by IBI’s Middle East correspondent attending the Abu Dhabi International Boat Show (ADIBS), which ran from November 21-24. The show received support from Abu Dhabi government bodies as strategic partners, Abu Dhabi Maritime and the Department of Culture & Tourism.

While Saudi Arabia has ambitious plans to develop its leisure boating infrastructure in a drive to promote tourism, the key Middle East boating markets are still in the Gulf with the UAE seen as the major industry hub. 2024 has been a good year for the industry, fuelled by the increasing number of expatriates moving to the region.

The UAE’s low tax environment and flexible attitude to foreign investment continues to attract wealthy people from all over the world, particularly from Europe where rising taxes and the reduction in the quality of life in many countries has caused concern. Many of these incomers are potential boat owners. In the UAE taking to the water is extremely popular with few other outdoor activities on offer.

Key market drivers behind the UAE boating market growth

Numerous factors are behind the recent growth of the UAE boating market. IBI’s correspondent met up with Mahmoud Itani, a local expert in the boating business who runs IR Yachts Consultancy based in Dubai. He facilitates boating companies entering the Gulf market and we discussed the drivers behind the recent growth in the boating business.

• The dynamics of the Gulf market change rapidly. Post-Covid, the UAE, with Dubai in the vanguard, opened the country rapidly to visitors. Many of them liked the secure lifestyle, the climate, low taxes and the business-friendly attitude of the government and moved permanently to the UAE.
• Post-2020, the UAE became more expatriate friendly, including removing the sponsor requirements for a business and many others including changing the weekend dates to align with most of the world.
• The conflict between Ukraine and Russia in 2022 resulted in an influx of people, many of whom have invested and set up businesses in the UAE.
• The United Arab Emirates is set to lead for the third year in a row as the world’s top destination for the wealthy, expecting to see a record-breaking inflow of 6,700 millionaires by year end, according to The Henley Private Wealth Migration Report 2024.
• The global trend in remote working has triggered a large influx of visitors and more permanent residents.

There is no doubt that the UAE has benefited enormously from sensible government economic policies in the last four years, in turn this has led to the growth in the boating market, very visible at this year’s ADIBS.

‘Who lives sees, but who travels sees more’

This is a well-known expression in the Middle East from Ibn Battuta, the renowned Moroccan explorer and adventurer who travelled through the Middle East to China in the 14th Century. His quote is equally valid in the modern-day Middle East and relevant to the boating industry where to be successful you should travel, make contacts, become friends and then do business.

The Middle East that Battuta travelled through in the 14th century hardly changed until the 1920’s when the discovery of oil started the transformation of the region from medieval fiefdoms to the most prosperous region in the world. Modern cities with stunning architecture including the world’s tallest building, Dubai’s Burj Al Khalifa, now occupy land that 40 years ago was barren desert.The rate of change in the UAE has been staggering and for boating a network of fifty modern marinas now caters to a boating market of over 20,000 yachts and boats.

The UAE, composed of seven Emirates – Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah and Um Al Quwain – have always been linked to the sea. As such trading in Dhows, fishing and pearl diving is part of the country’s heritage; now boating for fishing and fun is an essential part of an Emirati citizen’s DNA. In modern times the economy of the UAE has evolved to tourism, trading and real estate with a substantial part of the country’s GDP also derived from two of the world’s leading airlines, Emirates in Dubai and Etihad in Abu Dhabi.

Market numbers

Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and the wider UAE is one of the main centres for boating in the Gulf region with an estimated 20,000 registered boats and yachts in the UAE. The Dubai fleet comprises some 8,000 with superyachts, flybridge cruisers and open sports boats in the size range 40ft-80ft making up some 40% with the majority 60% of the boats ‘Gulf style’ open boats ranging from 28ft-60ft with two or more large outboard motors, sailing boats represent just a fraction of the boat numbers, some 2-3% of the fleet.

Abu Dhabi has a boat population of some 9,000 boats, with fewer superyachts than in Dubai, with 40ft-80ft inboard-powered flybridges and open sports boats representing approximately 20% of boat numbers.

Around 80% are outboard-powered ‘Gulf style’ boats from 28ft-60ft. The remaining five Emirates within the UAE have a combined fleet of around 2,000 boats, the majority Gulf style boats.

Dubai has the greatest number of superyachts in the UAE.Though the initial boom in Russians fleeing the Ukraine conflict has subsided, many have taken up residency and are still buying boats.

Despite the UAE being the regional superyacht hub, perspective is needed. Only 64 large yachts visited the UAE in 2023 which, considering most of them came from other Gulf countries, is not a significant number, reflecting the logistical problems of cruising from Europe to the Gulf via the Red Sea.

Abu Dhabi International Boat Show shines

This year’s show was located at the Marina Hall at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC), which for a maritime show has the best venue in the Gulf region. The Marina Hall adjacent to the marina, opened three years ago and enhances ADNEC’s ability to host and organise indoor, outdoor, and maritime events simultaneously.

ADNEC cites the waterside facility as the largest specialised waterfront exhibition hall in the Middle East and North African region, with an area of 10,000m². The position on Arabian Gulf Street provides ease of access for all visitors from inside and outside Abu Dhabi and provides more than 2,500 free car parking spaces.

Humaid Matar Al Dhaheri, managing director and Group CEO of ADNEC Group, commented: “The outstanding success of the 2024 Abu Dhabi International Boat Show reflects our commitment at ADNEC Group to excellence in planning and execution, establishing a global marine platform that combines innovation with unique experiences. It reaffirms ADNEC’s position as the world’s leading destination for hosting major marine events.”

The show is gathering momentum and is going in the right direction with most of the local manufacturers exhibiting

He added: “This year’s edition saw a record-breaking participation of 43,732 visitors, along with significant growth in exhibition space and the number of exhibitors, further enhancing Abu Dhabi’s status as a hub for innovation and sustainability in the global marine sector.”

Major catamaran builder Sunreef exhibited at the show with three yachts. Known as a major European manufacturer from Poland, Sunreef, has now opened a manufacturing facility in the UAE Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah.

The consensus of exhibitors sampled by IBI revealed positive feelings on the show. Mohammed Al Suwaidi the owner of Dubai boat builder ASM, manufacturing boats from 27ft-53ft was positive about the show.

“The show is gathering momentum and is going in the right direction with most of the local manufacturers exhibiting with a surge of overseas builders, we will exhibit in future editions. The UAE market is especially benefiting from the influx of new residents, many from Europe seeking a better lifestyle in a lower tax environment”.

Overseas exhibitor Oscar Siches, the representative of ASAR, a marina dry-stack solutions manufacturer from the USA said,

“I’m very happy to have exhibited here, the facilities in the Marina Hall are excellent”

Rudi Joustra the general manager of Lambda Electronics the UAE distributor of ICOM outlined: “The show has potential to grow, we have already seen visitors from other GCC countries namely Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Oman.”

ADIBS’ prestigious site and excellent location has shown it to be a worthy rival to other established regional shows. The Abu Dhabi show has come of age and is now an established fixture in the Middle East boating industry calendar, with next year’s show dates published as November 20-23, 2025.

Abu Dhabi show: key market takeaways

• ADIBS benefited from increased exhibitor numbers, up from 137 last year to 180 this year.
• Significantly, on-water boat numbers doubled to 125 from 55 last year, the show benefiting from increased berthing capacity on the marina due to the investment program by the show owners, the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC).
• There was a marked increase in the number of international brands exhibiting at the show, many for first time, both on-water and land. These included Axopar, Cranchi, Ferretti, Finnmaster, Nimbus, Saxdor, Sea Ray, Sunreef and Sunseeker. This demonstrated the strong interest from international brands in the Gulf market, a reflection of static or declining leisure boat demand in Europe and the subsequent search for new markets.
• ADIBS this year again revealed that boat manufacturing in the UAE has reached international standards of innovation, design and build quality which has been developing over the past 8 years.
• Local boat builder participation was also strong, with most of the local manufacturers catering for the most popular Gulf market sector, fast open boats between 25ft-50ft with a narrow beam to length ratio and deep V hulls designed for local Arab customer’s main interest – speed and fishing. With the main fishing grounds some distance offshore, the two key criteria go together. Outboard motors up to a total horsepower of 3,000hp are the main option to achieve the performance required, the number of engines on the transom being seen as a status symbol.
• Houseboats are also popular in Abu Dhabi because of the extensive network of sheltered waters, lagoons and 200 islands and were well represented at the show. While locally termed as houseboats, most are self-propelled by inboard or outboard motors and are up to 40m in length.