KPMG examines the current state of the UAE’s F&B market to understand the interplay of demand and supply dynamics.

The UAE continues to lead the Food & Beverage market in the Middle East region, aided by an increasing number of tourists. According to a recent MasterCard study (Mastercard’s Global Destination Cities Index (GDCI) 2018), Dubai is ranked fourth in terms of international overnight visitors. According to the same study, Dubai placed first with respect to overnight visitor spend per day. The emirate also has the highest expected growth in overnight visitors.
Sector growth is also supported by the ongoing entry of new international and regional brands. The restaurant footprint (Footprint is calculated according to the number of restaurants per million residents or per million residents and overnight visitors) in Dubai remains high, second only to that of Paris. Based on an expected increase of retail gross leasable area (GLA) in the coming years, this is likely to increase.