“But now, that effect is slowing. So business is going back — you can see it’s on track to moving back in a very positive direction.”
BinHendi added that The Dubai Shopping Festival (DSS) had also given business a boost.
“It definitely attracts a lot of people from around the GCC, mainly Qatar, Saudi Arabia — a lot of families. They feel comfortable, can enjoy a modern style of life, the malls and beaches are good, so that attraction is definitely there.
“Also some of the Europeans still like to come over during the hot period, partly because they get better hotel deals and also they enjoy the sun anyway,” he added.
BinHendi’s vice president — hospitality, Naveed Dowlatshahi, added that the group was seeing “a trend where footfall is increasing”.
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“I think last year the thing was that most of us didn’t factor in the first year of operations [in Dubai Mall]; we thought from day one there’d be this big bang,” he said.
“So what we are doing now is factoring in realistically what will be the turnover for the first 12 to 24, months rather than expecting 90 % capacity from day one. We have learnt from that.
“And I think once the cinema opens, and Sega Republic, it’s going to be good. I still think it will become the prime mall in Dubai, in future,” he predicted.
The Meat Co and Ribs & Rumps regional operations manager Rob de Villiers agreed that operators needed to be realistic about how quickly the mall’s business would increase.
”We’re waiting to see what happens with Dubai Mall. It’s been a bit of a slow growth period in the mall itself; the footfall is definitely not what it should be.
“So we will hold on to that a little while longer and see towards the end of the year how things stand,” he said.
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Oct 3, 2009 , United Arab Emirates
What happened in the cinema in Dubai Mall last night at 10 o'clock? Why so suddenly declared all out of the cinema? people have been panic that sluchilos.Maybe a fire occurred?