Al Shaab Village aims for 250,000 visitors

The only permanent exhibition centre in the UAE, Al Shaab Village, is aiming at hosting more tourists through their special platform with travel agents and tour operators to reach their target of 250,000 visitors a month.

TT Bureau

In the past few years Al Shaab Village has welcomed over 180,000 visitors a month which consists of residents from Sharjah, visitors from the GCC and other emirates. Participating at international trade exhibitions with Sharjah Tourism Authority they are looking at sharing the experience with new feeder markets such as China whilst being a prominent destination in the agenda of tourism promoters of Sharjah from all over the globe.

According to the new plans for 2017, they have introduced a special discount booklet for all travel agents, tours operators, hoteliers and other partners to be utilised in the state of the art exhibition and convention centre.

The term ‘village’ has been used to ensure Sharjah’s cultural identity is maintained. Housing the first and largest ice rink in the emirate of Sharjah with over 240 stands, 52 products on food, textile, cosmetics, uniforms, accessories, perfumes etc. for the entire family, Al Shaab Village has an edge over all the malls in the emirate. Both indoor and outdoor amusement parks is just a tip of the many other offerings they have presented to the visitors. The state of the art seven screen multiplex cinemas operated by Oscar cinemas provide entertainment for the visitors with a mix of Arabic, English and Hindi movies. From the seven, there are five standard screens, one VVIP and one 7D screen.

Billiards, snooker, play station and computer games provide entertainment for all the tech-savvy youngsters who wish to spend time with their friends away from home but in a safer environment. In terms of the younger kids (in the age group of four) “Fun House” is the activity area where they are provided special care service until their parents shop at the venue, which is very well received. Al Shaab Village has been established as a family destination with products from Arabic countries such as Jordan, Turkey, the UAE, with additional products from India, China, among others. Food wise the delectable offerings include Arabic, Indian, Italian, etc.

Abdulla Al Dah, CEO, Al Shaab Village, says, “We have designed this fully-integrated state-of-the-art facility as a permanent exhibition centre to be enjoyed by residents and tourists right throughout the year. From outside, the building displays traditional architecture and once you enter it is an amazing feeling of a state-ofthe-art modern ambience. We are the first to have an ice rink in the emirate of Sharjah which can be enjoyed by the whole family. We want the tourists and residents of Sharjah to be amazed by the offerings in store and ensure that they return for more in their next visit.

“We participate at ITB Berlin, WTM, and ATM and even go for roadshows with Sharjah Tourism to Europe, Asia, China, and Singapore and soon to Bosnia. Currently there are shuttle buses from leading hotels in Sharjah where guests are given the opportunity to visit and experience Al Shaab Village. My team is in regular contact with travel agents at these international exhibitions so that Al Shaab Village will be on the itinerary of the tour operators, as we believe that we can provide tourists with a mixture of Arab culture amidst modern environs. Very soon we will be starting our second branch and we will share that information by Q4 this year.”