Dubai Festival City gets enthusiastic international response

"We have now entered into discussions with major retail operators from France, Italy and the Near East as well as innovative food and beverage outlet providers from the USA," said Lee Tabler, Chief Executive Officer, Dubai Festival City Development.

"Each of these prospective partners meets our criteria of bringing new and exciting offerings to the market and appealing to a broad range of age groups. Together with selected partners we will create a centreplace destination for Dubai, the Middle East and the world, which, through its varied and imaginative offerings will create critical retail mass."

Retail media from nine countries throughout Europe, the USA and Canada attended a press conference on the Dubai Festival City stand, which was staged to unveil the project's expansive masterplan, which boasts 15 distinct communities. Four of the communities are devoted to retail with offerings ranging from automotive dealerships to an out-of-town retail park with stand-alone hypermarkets and superstores. The Dubai Festival City retail proposition also includes high street and boutique shopping in landscaped retail communities with shared parking, covered walkways, kiosks and food and beverage outlets.

The Dubai Festival City stand at MAPIC also hosted the Mayor of Cannes, Monsieur Bernard Brochand who was also briefed on the unique waterfront development which offers a wealth of world-class retail opportunities in a down-town hub setting.

"This is an exciting and impressive development," said Mayor Brochand. "What is particularly interesting is that it is coming up in the heart of the city."

The Dubai Festival City stand was designed as a three-pronged promotional tool focussing on the project, its developers the Al-Futtaim Group and Dubai as an international retail and tourism hub.

"We consider the promotion of Dubai to be integral to that of Dubai Festival City," explained Tabler. "Dubai is the shopping hub of the Arabian Gulf and the region's leading leisure destination. The emirate is targeting tourist arrivals of 10 million by 2010 and we see these visitors as a key target for us. Tourists will converge on Dubai Festival City as it will be a signature attraction. Tourists are looking for the next horizon and how they can add more to their shopping experience. Dubai Festival City will offer this."