Dubai - With the fourth edition of the prestigious MENALAC Awards approaching, MENALAC announces its panel of judges. Featuring heavyweights from industry-leading organizations, the judges have been carefully selected for their sharp expertise and second-to-none passion for the industry.

Meet the judges

The MENALAC Awards 2022 will see 14 judges across 20 categories:

Phil Taylor - Founder & Managing Director of Team-Leisure Consulting, Antonio Zamperla Junior - President of Antonio Zamperla, Scott Deisley - Managing Director at Safety Skills Training DMCC, Ernest Yale - President, CEO & Founder of TRIOTECH Amusement, Paul Chutter - President of Whitewater, Yannick Maes - CEO of KCC Entertainment Design,   Fred Pastuszak - Theme Park Creative, Art Director & Architect, Silvio Liedtke - CEO of Landmark Leisure, Shazad Ali Abdullah - CEO of Cheeky Monkeys Playland, Andrew Such - Interim CEO of AMC Cinemas KSA (SEVEN), Tim Batstone - Chairman of HB Leisure , Marcel Hendricks - GM at Doha Oasis Quest, Scott Wellington - General Manager of Desert Falls Water & Adventure Park, and Mark Tucker - General Manager of Adventureland, UAE & Morocco.

The two Health & Safety awards will be judged by 12 members of the MENALAC Health & Safety Committee and the remaining 5 awards will be judged by the MENALAC Board.

The Health & Safety jury comprises Peter Stubbs - Director – HSE at Majid Al Futtaim Majid Al Futtaim Leisure, Entertainment & Cinemas, Grahame Campbell - Group HSE Director at Jumeirah Group, Rahul Rahalkar - Technical Manager at Al Othaim Leisure & Tourism Co., Ralph Pesgens - Global Head of CC Amusement Parks & Leisure Industry at TUV NORD, Mohammed Ashraf - HSE Manager at Doha Oasis Quest, Shady Mohammed - Assistant Operations Manager at Adventureland, Alex Schrott - Head of Amusement Rides & Structures at TUV SUD ME, Pankaj Sharma - Health & Safety Manager at Landmark Leisure, Steven Putzeys - Operations Manager at M.H. Alshaya Leisure & Entertainment, Ben Clegg - General Manager of The Zone Amusement Arcade, Noel Deguzman - Department Head HSE at Motiongate Dubai, and Karl Rothenberg - Maintenance Director of Legoland Dubai.

Mike Rigby, Chairman of the MENALAC Events Committee, says “We have brainstormed putting together a multidisciplinary and - more importantly - an immensely experienced regional and international jury that is extremely knowledgeable about the MENA Leisure & Attractions Industry”.

He continues, “Collectively, they represent a diverse wealth of industry expertise, talent, and knowledge that will help benchmark, award, and honor excellence in the MENA Leisure & Attractions Industry while also setting the bar for the years to come. With an aim to make the judging more accurate this year, we have also instituted a separate Health & Safety Jury comprising Leisure Health & Safety experts across different disciplines to judge the two Health & Safety Awards”.

The MENALAC Awards 2022 categories are:

  • BEST THEME PARK
  • BEST WATERPARK
  • BEST FEC
  • BEST UNIQUE VISITOR ATTRACTION
  • BEST EDUTAINMENT / PLAYSCAPE
  • BEST SPORT / ADVENTURE-BASED ENTERTAINMENT
  • BEST NEW LEISURE/ ENTERTAINMENT CONCEPT
  • BEST CINEMA EXPERIENCE
  • BEST DAY OUT
  • BEST SALES & MARKETING CAMPAIGN
  • BEST CSR PROGRAM
  • BEST CUSTOMER LOYALTY PROGRAM
  • BEST EMPLOYEES ENGAGEMENT INITIATIVE
  • MOST INNOVATIVE APPLICATION OF TECHNOLOGY
  • BEST NEW CONCEPT / INTERIOR DESIGN FOR A LEISURE FACILITY
  • BEST NEW PRODUCT FOR THEME PARKS
  • BEST NEW PRODUCT FOR WATER PARKS
  • BEST NEW PRODUCT FOR FECS
  • BEST NEW CONCEPT
  • SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR
  • BEST INNOVATION IN HEALTH & SAFETY
  • BEST INDIVIDUAL SAFETY ACHIEVEMENT
  • BEST IMPACTFUL SUSTAINABILITY CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR
  • BEST ESTABLISHMENT MANAGER; BELOW 250000 VISITOR/TRANSACTION
  • BEST ESTABLISHMENT MANAGER; ABOVE 250000 VISITOR/TRANSACTION
  • LEISURE AND ENTERTAINMENT PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR
  • MENALAC HALL OF FAME

How the MENALAC Awards entries are judged 

The MENALAC Awards aim to raise the benchmarking standards in the industry. With this in mind, the awards consistently attract top global and regional industry names, welcoming their rich experience and knowledge of the MENA Leisure & Attractions industry to judge the awards. Committed to maintaining equal representation in the jury, a balanced mix of experts representing various segments of the industry are selected to ensure fair and objective judging. The jurors represent businesses from several countries across the MENA region, as well as further afield.

Like in its previous editions, the nominations will be submitted and judged through an online awards portal. Each judge will vet and examine all aspects of an award entry, assessing them against the submission requirements and judging criteria.

The judges will evaluate the award entries individually via the online awards portal, and will complete their judging and scoring over a 14-day judging window.

Once the judging is complete, UHY James Awards Auditors will calculate the scores over 10 days and announce the finalists in the first week of March.

The winners will be announced at the MENALAC Awards Gala on March 29, 2022.

The MENALAC Awards are truly credible. They owe their distinct reputation to utmost confidentiality, which is maintained throughout the nomination and judging process. All stages of this process are overseen by UHY James - an independent audit firm. UHY James is the sole holder of the winners’ names until the awards ceremony.

Who can enter the MENALAC Awards 2022? 

Entries are welcome from Family Entertainment Centres (FECs), water park operators, visitor attractions, edutainment centres, sport & adventure-based operators, cinemas in the MENA region, and manufacturers, suppliers, and designers who service MENA-based Leisure & Attractions operators.

Nominations opening soon: How to enter the MENALAC Awards 2022

All nomination entries must be submitted to: www.menalacawards.awardsplatform.com

Entrants can nominate themselves across multiple categories.

Entries must not exceed the specified word limit, and are to be submitted in English.

To better illustrate their achievements, entrants are encouraged to use visual elements, client testimonials, and a video (not exceeding 90 seconds).

Nominations will open soon.

The nomination round will close on February 12, 2022.

Entry fees for each nomination entry are USD 400 for members and USD 500 for non-members.

About the MENALAC Awards 2022 

The objective of the annual MENALAC Leisure Industry Awards is to recognize excellence and achievements, the standard of the leisure attractions industry in the Middle East, and set new benchmarks for the industry locally and globally, where participants challenge themselves in achieving excellence and are honored for their outstanding efforts via these awards. The awards shine a spotlight on, and enhance the profile of, the winners to a higher level as the global industry now looks to them for inspiration and as the new touchstone to judge their own performance.

The MENALAC Awards is just one of several ways MENALAC creates immense value for the industry. Most recently, it launched the pioneering MENA Leisure Report (MLR) which offers exclusive in-depth data from across the region.

For sponsorship queries, please contact sanai.parab@menalac.org  

For more information about MENALAC, please visit www.menalac.org  

About MENALAC:
Established in 2014, the Middle East and North Africa Leisure and Attractions Council (MENALAC) is a not-for-profit platform representing the Leisure, Entertainment and Attractions industry in the Middle East and North Africa.

With over 530 plus operations and 200 plus brands from 22 countries in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region including Pakistan and Afghanistan, MENALAC offers great benefits to the industry as a platform for stakeholders to interact and stay informed. It has been set up under the aegis of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) and the Dubai Association Centre in 2016 when leading companies within the region’s entertainment industry, including Theme Parks, Visitor Attractions, Water Parks and Family Entertainment Centres companies joined forces to form a council to support the growth and development of the industry.

The Council was established as a platform to promote safe operations, regional development, professional growth and commercial success of the amusement industry and to be an indispensable resource for the Council’s members and an international authority for the attraction industry.

Website: www.menalac.org/en

Twitter: @Menalac

LinkedIn: @Menalac

For more information, please contact: SOCIATE PR 
Malek Shlone, Arabic PR Executive & Social Media Maestro
Email: malek.shlone@sociate.ae
Mobile: +971 50 657 4708

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