https://arab.news/bffdp
- At $79.57 per month, gym memberships in Saudi Arabia are much higher than the global average
JEDDAH: Saudis flocked to rejoin health and fitness clubs as soon as pandemic restrictions were eased in the Kingdom, despite being charged among the highest rates globally.
Rates for joining gyms in Saudi Arabia are much higher than the global average at $79.57 per month, an industry report has revealed.
According to CashNetUSA, Saudi Arabia has the seventh highest gym fees, with Austria topping the list at $107 per month. The Kingdom is also trailing costly memberships in the UAE, Qatar, and Egypt.
Monthly gym or health center charges are the cheapest in Canada at $15 per month.
Leejam Sports, which operates leading Saudi brand Fitness Time, reported profit for the second quarter of this year, more than doubling the average analyst estimates.
The company recorded a profit of SR50.9 million compared to a loss of SR91.0 million last year, after its revenues jumped to SR221.9 million from SR24.4 million a year ago.
The cost of doing sport and staying in shape differs between men and women, who are charged more to access the many women-only gyms available in the Kingdom.
Explaining the high prices, Haya Sawan, founder and managing partner at SheFit Gym, told Arab News: “Fitness is still a relatively new concept in Saudi Arabia. Since 2017, however, we have witnessed a much greater interest and awareness, especially among women who are more empowered and confident today than before.”
She said that due to the limited availability of women-only facilities, as well as the high dependency on costly foreign trainers, there is a split in prices between gendered gyms.
Fouz Bakhashwain, a 34-year-old fitness trainer, said: “We have a lack of experts who can educate and train gym-goers, and because of that we have to get help from trainers from abroad.”
He added: “It is nobody’s fault really, we are just a young industry and until we train Saudis who are interested in joining the field as trainers, the situation is likely to continue.”
Hamna Khalid, a Pakistani living in Jeddah, said: “Since I am a student and I want to stay fit, much of my allowance goes to my gym subscription. When I was living abroad, going to the gym was not considered a luxury but a necessity, and I didn’t even consider it an expense.”
But there is hope that the situation will change. Sawan believes that the collective journey of Saudis toward fitness and better health is driving a change in prices and an increase in the number of homegrown trainers.
“It is encouraging to see a large number of certified Saudi trainers who are contributing to the growth of our industry,” she said. “The future of sports and fitness in the Kingdom is very bright and in the next five years, we will see tremendous progress.”