Spectacular Street Festival At Dubai Marina Mall Drives Robust Growth In Mall Visitor Traffic

The region’s first-ever Street Festival, introduced at Dubai Marina Mall, was an overwhelming success, driving robust footfall to the mall.

Dubai Marina Mall, the definitive lifestyle and leisure destination in Dubai Marina and New Dubai, recorded an impressive 40 per cent growth in visitor traffic during the opening weekend of the Street Festival compared to the same period last year.

The colourful activities were a visual treat for visitors as artists from around the world performed awe-inspiring feats that amazed the spectators. The ten-day festival featured an entire gamut of street-style events including jaw-dropping magical acts and rip-roaring clown performances.

With the huge popularity of the Street Festival, Dubai Marina Mall recorded the highest footfall since its opening, a trend that is expected to prevail. The mall plans to make the event an annual feature in its colourful calendar of activities.

Nasser Rafi, Chief Executive Officer, Emaar Malls Group, said: “While the Street Festival itself was phenomenally successful, we are thrilled that we have displayed to the community our distinctive offerings – including our beautiful promenade and outstanding restaurants – in the heart of the Marina. We managed to attract thousands of new visitors during the ten-day event. Aside from the regular Marina visitors, we also welcomed new guests from the nearby communities.”

At the Street Festival, 12 unique international acts were performed by artists from UK, Canada, USA, Australia, New Zealand and Portugal. Juggling, acrobatics, clowning, mime, comedy chaos, a real-life silent movie, fire shows, and balloon pop comedy, were among the various acts performed as part of the festival.

With over 120 retail outlets, Dubai Marina Mall provides an exciting mix of tenants including a supermarket, fashion wear, accessories, jewellers, boutiques, book & toy shops and children entertainment, in addition to a food court and the 6-screen premium Reel Cinemas.
 

1,111,111th Visitor At Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo Rewarded With Mauritius Holiday

Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo, the popular leisure attraction at The Dubai Mall, recently welcomed its 1,111,111th paid visitor with a whole host of fantastic prizes. Mr Awad Mohammed Al Kabbi, a UAE national, received the grand prize of a dream holiday for two to Mauritius including Emirates Airline return tickets and a four night stay at the exquisite One&Only Le Saint Geran.

Mr Damien Prendergast, General Manager of Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo, presented the prize to Mr Awad Mohammed Al Kabbi. He also presented other prizes including a dinner for two at Fazaris restaurant at The Address Downtown Burj Dubai; sporting goods vouchers from Stadium Store worth AED 3,000; and Sharaf DG vouchers worth AED 5,000!

The special campaign to celebrate the 1,111,111th paid visitor to Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo was organised in association with Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority; One&Only Le Saint Geran, Mauritius; Emirates Airline; Virgin 104.4; Stadium; Sharaf DG and The Address Hotels + Resorts.

Mr Arif Amiri, Chief Executive Officer, Emaar Retail, said: “Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo opens doors to an amazing diversity of aquatic animals and is one of Dubai’s most popular family attractions. We recently crossed our 1,000,000th visitor within seven months of operation, which was a milestone in itself. To celebrate the popularity of the destination and to reward our visitors for their continued patronage, we decided to offer the unique 1,111,111th visitor with an unforgettable holiday and a host of prizes.”

Mr Awad Mohammed Al Kabbi said: “I am really happy and surprised to be the winner. I have heard a lot about the Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo and this is my first visit. I can’t believe my luck and it is wonderful to be part of this unique celebration for Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo.”

Dr A Karl Mootoosamy, Director of Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority, said: “Mauritius is very proud to be associated with Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo at The Dubai Mall. Aligning with such a strong brand, as Emaar, will certainly reinforce our image in the Middle East market and we will continue to focus our efforts in intensifying our presence in this region. It gives us great pleasure to welcome the lucky winner to experience the many activities and diversity the island has to offer.”

Featuring a rich diversity of aquatic animals including Sand Tiger Sharks, Rays, Giant Groupers, Penguins, Seals, Crocodiles and a mind-boggling variety of fish, Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo is spread over two levels of The Dubai Mall. Shark Dives, which are open to certified divers and to those who have never dived before, are popular with young and old alike. The recently introduced Glass Bottom boat rides throughout the day are also extremely popular with the public.

Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo complements other leisure attractions such as the Olympic-sized Dubai Ice Rink and The Waterfall, which traverses all four levels of the mall.

The Dubai Mall will soon open a dedicated Entertainment Precinct featuring SEGA Republic, the largest of its kind indoor family theme park; KidZania®, an award winning children’s ‘edu-tainment’ concept; and Reel Cinemas, a 22-screen megaplex.

Visitor Numbers From GCC See 36.5% Increase During First Half Of DSS 2009

Dubai Summer Surprises has played a major role in sustaining the position of Dubai as a leading tourism and commerce destination, said His Excellency Major General Mohammed Ahmad Al Marri, Director General of the Dubai Naturalisation and Residency Department.“Despite the current global circumstances, we are confident that Dubai has the tourism potential and the state-of-the-art infrastructure to keep it among the leading cities in the global tourism arena and it is based on this confidence that this year’s Dubai Summer Surprises was launched,” noted HE.The number of GCC passengers coming to Dubai since the start of the DSS 2009 on June 11 increased by 36.5 per cent compared to the same period between April and May 2009, he added, explaining that most of the visitors came from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, and Bahrain.“The tourist influx to Dubai during DSS is an indication that the emirate is doing well despite the financial crisis that has gripped most of the world.”The extensive promotion campaigns accompanying DSS and the colossal efforts made by private sector entities such as shopping malls and hotels have played a major role in attracting GCC visitors to Dubai, he added.“Omani nationals are by far the largest in number, followed by Kuwaitis, Saudis, Bahrainis and Qataris; but by the early days of July the number of Saudis has increased to a large extent,” H.E. Al Marri explained, attributing the increase in the number of Saudi visitors to the end of the academic year in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.“DNRD stands firmly behind DSS 2009 as is the case with other government departments in Dubai, offering the best possible services that reflect the true image of Dubai as a year-round leading tourism and commerce destination. This is in line with the directives by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE, and Ruler of Dubai,” H.E. stated.As part of its commitment to offer value-added services during DSS, DNRD efficiently processes round-the-clock visa transactions for those visiting the country during the summer event besides offering many other facilities and services, including the Distinguished Guest Service offered to frequent business visitors to Dubai and the Tasaheel Service offered to guests arriving at the Dubai International Airport to facilitate passport control procedures.