For the first time, the UAE’s leading fitness and wellness operators are joining forces to deliver a comprehensive, industry-led report designed to map the real impact, challenges, and opportunities in the country’s booming active lifestyle sector.
Spearheaded by IEG Middle East, organisers of Dubai Active Industry—the region’s largest international health, fitness, and wellness trade show—the initiative marks an unprecedented show of unity in what has traditionally been a fiercely competitive market.
Participating operators already include major names such as PureGym Arabia, One Fit Holdings, Fitness First Middle East, Warehouse Gym, GymNation, Gulf Active Industry Network (GAIN), and Precision Wellness. The initiative remains open to all UAE-based operators, with organisers calling on gyms, boutique studios, wellness centres, run clubs, hotels, and other active businesses to join before the July 31 deadline.
Filling a Critical Knowledge Gap
The report aims to address a long-standing need for accurate, transparent data about the UAE’s fitness industry. It will gather detailed insights into operator performance, consumer behaviour, and market trends—data the sector has often lacked.
Loren Holland, Founder & CEO of GymNation, explained the significance:
“We previously invested in our own research to understand member behaviours. This insight is what we used to refine and improve our offer and finesse our member experience. This report is the next step. It’s a collective exercise including all major operators bringing together insights from across the sector to show how people in the UAE are actually engaging with health and fitness.”
The research will be delivered in two phases: first, an operator data collection programme, followed by a nationwide consumer survey distributed with the support of participating businesses. Organisers have emphasised that no personal data will be collected at any stage, ensuring full anonymity and data integrity throughout.
Raising Industry Standards
For many operators, the project is designed to change perceptions of the UAE’s fitness industry and build a stronger, more transparent foundation for future investment and planning.
Mark Buchanan, CEO at Fitness First Middle East, underlined the value of cooperation:
“Collaboration and competition go hand in hand. As gym operators we are all running the same race, albeit in different lanes. Working together is the ideal way to improve perception of the industry here and abroad. Together we will raise standards and ultimately improve the member experience.”
Gavin Baxter, Commercial Director at IEG Middle East, added:
“This report will help operators, studios, and communities make better decisions and improve standards across the sector. It is an initiative created by the sector for the sector, and I’m proud to see so many industry leaders supporting it.”
Launch Set for October
The final report will be launched at the Dubai Active Industry CEO Forum on Friday, 24 October at the Dubai Exhibition Centre in Expo City. The event is expected to attract a wide cross-section of the industry’s decision-makers and stakeholders.
Organisers stress that any operator wishing to contribute still has time to join the project by completing the survey before 31 July.
For more information on how to participate, operators are encouraged to visit Dubai Active Industry’s official channels.
