4 minute read
The Growth of Glampitect: Dubai Expansion
Glampitect announce the company’s first international expansion, having set up operations in the UAE. International Glamping Business editor Will Rusbridge caught up with Glampitect co-founder Calum Macleod to learn more.
Scottish glamping site design consultancy Glampitect was created in August 2019 by friends Calum MacLeod and Alisdair Young. Since its opening, the company has been involved in over 200 glamping projects across Britain.
Having established themselves in the UK market, Glampitect were keen to begin their global expansion. With a number of locations under consideration such as Australia and the USA, the company made the decision to begin in the UAE.
Glamping, as a concept, has been gaining traction within the UAE for a number of years now and following the recent announcement of the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan, that maps out a comprehensive future map for sustainable urban development in the city, it seems this growth will only continue. “The growth in glamping, or as they tend to call them: eco-resorts, has been phenomenal for a while now.” Says Macleod. “In recent times they’ve really pushed on with glamping, and now we’re speaking about potential glamping or eco-resorts to, not just people in Dubai, but also Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and lots of different places within the region.”
Growth in the popularity of glamping can be seen in countries across the world, but each of these countries all have their individual trends, and the UAE is no different. “We considered opening a Dubai office because, in the nicest possible way to the UK, the Middle East does everything bigger and better than at home. The scale is just so much bigger. In the UK you’re looking at 4 to 6-unit sites, out here they tend to start at around 50 units, so the scale is one of the most exciting things about the UAE expansion. The scale and the high-end sites that people are looking for out here makes it an incredibly exciting place to be.”
As is the case in other countries, as glamping grows in popularity, the diversity of what is on offer also increases. “I think that if we were having this conversation a couple of years ago I would be saying that safari tents and canvas lodges are the only accommodation types that they’ve got in the area and that’s all they’re doing, but everything has really diversified in recent times. So, they’ve gone from the canvas lodges to modern pods, converted containers, converted airstreams and domes. There’s a big diversity of developments which hasn’t always been the case. It’s the full spectrum now, all on a big scale.”
Having worked predominantly in the UK, Glampitect will have to adapt to the climate of the UAE which is a lot hotter and dryer. “The main design consideration for accommodation is, of course, the heat compared to back in the UK. It’s the opposite in terms of temperature at home where you’re looking to keep the cold out and the heat in, over here you’re looking to keep the cold in and the heat out. Fortunately, with some types of units, predominantly the more modern pods, they are designed to be very well insulated so all you need to do with them, is switch out the heating and install some air conditioning. The region is also covered in sand and there can be sandstorms so you definitely need to consider that too when choosing the materials that the accommodation will be made of.”
With recent events making international travel a lot more difficult, the UAE has also seen a rise in demand for staycations. “It’s a super common thing for people to go on staycation, both expats as well as Emiratis. What I would say is that it depends on the type of place, so generally the tourists and the expats are looking to go away and have a few drinks and because of that, they all tend to go to the same places such as glamping sites, hotels and all-inclusive resorts. Typically, when you go to these places it is either all tourists and expats or it’s all Emiratis. This is one thing that I wasn’t hugely aware of before I got here. I thought that we would be able to draw both the tourist/expat and the Emiratis in the same place, but it tends not to happen and is usually down to an alcohol license.”
While glamping has been gaining a lot of traction in recent years, it is still relatively new when compared to places like the UK. Because of this, Glampitect believe they have a lot to offer to the region. “Our wealth of knowledge and experience on running glamping sites relative to the rest of the industry over here means that we can really help people that are looking to set up glamping sites, whether that be big developers, governments or investment funds.”
To find out more about Glampitect, you can find their website at glampitect.co.uk.
Calum Macleod
