we are seeing the most growth, and in fact, they are competing with each other on Location Based Entertainment,” Bitar says. “Besides Saudi Arabia you have Qatar and the UAE, who are competing to get brands to bring their licenses and their IP to create these big theme parks.” Bitar advises brands in the licensing space to take a good look at the MENA region, particularly in the GCC area, Egypt and Turkey, all of which have large populations, a young demographic, and a lot of people with disposable income. “The Middle East is growing faster compared to other markets, especially for brands that focus on a younger population, because one of the youngest average populations is in the Middle East, and especially in the GCC, this region has very high purchasing power, so you’re seeing a lot of the top brands opening in the region covered by the six countries of the GCC,” Bitar explains. “Also, while Egypt has some challenges, it is a nation of more than 100 million people, and you have countries like Turkey, which is an absolutely huge market. “So, it’s that combination of high population growth, a younger demographic, and high purchasing power that is the key to why brands should be expanding into the Middle East.” Another factor is that governments have definitely changed their tune when it comes to welcoming tourism and Western brands. Bitar says the trend started when governments realized that their citizens were travelling abroad to seek out entertainment options that weren’t available back home. “There is a lot more money in the region, in terms of personal wealth, and these countries were finding a lot of their people were travelling to Turkey or Europe for the entertainment they can provide, and that’s a huge amount of money that’s going out of the kingdom,” he said. “So this is why they decided to create more entertainment and attractions, both to keep local tourists in the country, but also to bring in tourists from abroad, and so they are following the model that really started in Dubai, attracting more tourists and more expats who bring money into the country.” In addition to Location Based Entertainment and entertainment/ character licensing, Bitar says the other major growth areas are in sports and art & design licensing. Markettcom already represents major museums like The Met and The National Gallery, as well as being a local partner for the art-focused agency Artistry. In addition, Bitar says the sports sector is exploding, starting in 2017 when his team at WWE inked their long-term deal. “You are seeing a huge increase in the growth of sports licensing, especially after Qatar for the FIFA World Cup last year,” Bitar notes. “Now Saudi Arabia is also going to host the World Cup, so there will be even more growth for sports licensing in the region for years to come.” He also points to other major sports finding a home in the Middle East, including LIV Golf, which was funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, and the Dakar rally race, which relocated in the Middle East after years of running through South America. However, while Bitar is bullish on the growth of licensing in the MENA region, he also warns that expansion into new regions inevitably come with pitfalls. Errors in language, or unknowingly adopting symbols that could be offensive to local people, can quickly derail a licensing program. As well, simply being unaware of the local players make it much more difficult to find the right partners. “My best advice for anyone who isn’t able to build up their own local licensing department is to work with a reputable local agency,” Bitar says. “You need to understand the market, and you need to have a network, because most of the deals can be closed based on personal relationships. “People like to build that relationship based on connections, common values and a reference from other people that they know and trust, so it’s totally different than building or growing business in Europe or from North America, and this is why you need someone from the region that has a good network. “I think most of the companies, they need either to hire local people, or they need to work with local agencies, and I think the model of local agencies is much easier and less expensive for most of the brands to use that model.”