Dubai: Residents and visitors have more than one reason to visit Global Village this year.
The authentic food from different parts of the world is one of them.
The additional attractions brought to the region’s largest outdoor family destination and theme park, including the 12,000 cultural shows scheduled this season, is another major attraction that draws large crowds, Global Village Chief Operating Officer, Ahmad Hussain, told Gulf News.
With 31 pavilions representing over 70 countries, and with 3,400 outlets including the 25 restaurants providing visitors a taste of diverse cuisines from around the globe, “Spending a day at Global Village will never be enough, because there’s so much to do in one day,” said Hussain.
“We’ve had a huge crowd this year since the opening, who were all coming here for the special entertainments we had prepared for them this season. It is the first time in Global Village’s history to have set up a pavilion for the Americas, which is representing seven countries. The Cambodian Pavilion and Iraqi Pavilion are also new,” he said.
Hussain said each pavilion is unique on its own, and many stall owners have been bringing authentic products and top handicrafts from their countries and selling them exclusively at Global Village, “like the Turkish potato as an example.”
“Some people wait for Global Village to open in order to get their hands on those products. Each pavilion has its own unique products. Yemen is well known for honey, Afghanistan is known for their carpets, Iran for saffron, and Turkey for their Ice cream and sweets,” he said.
In terms of size and excitement, a lot has been done, he said, with some of the main attractions brought to the region for the first time, like the Illumination World.
“It is a concept brought from China’s Lantern Festival, where people can enjoy looking at architecture highlighted through the use of lantern art,” he said.
Furthermore, he mentioned that the recent additions to this year were the Animal Land, with moving sculptures of animals that children could see and learn about through the descriptions provided, the Fantasy Island with 50 rides, some to be the first in the UAE, the Prehistoric Oceanic, a 5D concept showing underwater creatures and Al Remal, sand sculptures made from beach sand.
“Last year we had around five million visitors, and this year we were expecting the same amount. So far we have met our daily expectations and more, so the numbers are really positive,” he said.
From cultural shows happening in each pavilion every few minute, to big shows and concerts happening on a huge stage they had built this season, Hussain said there will also be 12 international concerts performed by famous singers from around the world almost every weekend.
“There are a lot of things we had developed. The water fountain with the fountain shows, the huge stage to accommodate the cultural shows, the greenery area in front of the stage and the screens were all added to give a relaxing environment to our guests,” he said.
Speaking about the shows, he said “there are a mixture of shows, some to be the first in the Middle East and some we had brought from previous seasons like certain comedy shows, thrill shows, musical shows and street shows.”
In an effort to introduce the Emirati heritage and food to the international audience, Hussain said they had also brought the Heritage Village once again this year to show visitors how people in different parts of the UAE lived in the past.
Entrance tickets, priced at Dh15, include a scratch and win voucher “and everyone gets to be a winner,” Hussain noted.
