Pictured: A new report has found that the Gulf’s interiors industry has surged in value by more than US$2.2billion in the last year alone, to $17.7bn. The figures are revealed by INDEX Qatar – a new interior design exhibition taking place in Doha this November

Qatar’s building surge ahead of the 2024 FIFA World Cup has sparked a boom in interior design spend across the Gulf – with its décor and fit-out market now worth almost $18 billion-a-year.

A region-wide study commissioned by INDEX Qatar – a new interior design exhibition taking place in Doha this November – found that the state’s mammoth spend on infrastructure and real estate is helping to skyrocket the value of the region’s interiors industry.

In the last year alone, the fit-out market has grown by more than US$2.2 billion, and is now estimated at being worth $17.7 billion-per-annum.

The report – commissioned exclusively by INDEX and carried out by market analysts Ventures – concluded that interior design is one of the Gulf’s fastest growing industries.

A spokesperson for Ventures said: “Contractors should consider themselves fortunate to be in a region that is still very active compared to many other parts of the world despite low oil prices.

“With the current slowdown in the market and the fast-approaching dates for the likes of the FIFA World Cup 2022, developers and consultants are bound to turn their attention towards providing high-quality refurbishments to their existing projects, in turn fueling the demand for interiors and fit-out contractors. The value of projects in the construction and interiors pipeline is four times the value of projects completed in the past ten years.”

INDEX Qatar will gather hundreds of international product manufacturers and interior design firms at the Doha Exhibition & Conference Centre from November 13^th to 15^th.

The show is expected to attract thousands of interior designers, architects, project managers, importers and distributors from the full spectrum of retail, hospitality, residential and commercial design.

With a weekly spend of more than US$500 million being put into infrastructure projects ahead of Qatar going centre-stage in 2024, INDEX arrives at an incredibly opportune time for designers looking to make the most of the country’s surging interiors market, itself valued at almost $3 bn-a-year and growing.

Jaafar Shubber, INDEX Qatar event director, said: “In the face of global economic challenges, the pioneering endeavor and ambition of designers, architects and construction professionals based throughout the Gulf continues to not only persevere, but conceive, invent and drive the future of design.

“The region – Qatar in particular – will play host to some of the world’s biggest events over the next decade, and the construction and redevelopment process for each of those is already well underway, across all sectors; hospitality, commercial real estate, retail, health and hospitals, and education. It’s hugely exciting.”

According to the report, the Gulf region’s interiors industry is valued at its highest within the building sector, where its annual worth is $9.2 bn – up almost $1 bn on last year. The commercial real estate ($1.1 bn), hotel ($2.1 bn), retail ($1.2 bn), hospital ($667 m) and education ($452m) sectors have all increased interiors investment since 2016. The residential sector remained buoyant with an annual value of more than $3 bn.

Individual interior product industries are also experiencing profitable growth. The lighting fixtures market is booming, with the region’s lighting systems market predicted to be worth $3.5 bn by 2020. Textile imports and exports are valued at $3bn-a-year, with furniture and fittings recording similar figures.

Firms already confirmed to appear at INDEX Qatar include La Sorogeeka, Jotun, Mezzaluna, Seasons Accessories Inc, Cristal de Paris and Stil Décor.

To register to attend for free, visit www.index-qatar.com