420,000 visitors at Global Village over the weekend

The visitors consisted of residents of the other Emirates in Dubai and international visitors who had come especially to join in the festivities of Dubai Shopping Festival. The parking lot of the Global Village saw more than 34,000 in the general parking area, whereas the parking just outside the Village for VIPs that has a capacity of 2000 cars was also completely full.

Ibrahim Abdul Rahim, Global Village Director, said, 'The Village has seen an increase in the number of visitors each consecutive day of the week, peaking towards the weekend, a testimony to the success of the Global Village. The number of visitors who arrived on Thursday numbered 190,000 and Friday saw a strong crowd of 230,000. The figures will only increase in the coming days, especially during the Eid Al Adha holidays.'

The entrance to the Village is very organised. The parking lots, divided into categories, provide easy accessibility to the Village.

'We thank Dubai Municipality which provides transportation facilities for visitors from within the parking lots to the entrance and we also thank them for the taxi facilities as well. We also thank Dubai Police which manages the traffic flow so efficiently within the Village,' Abdul Rahim added.

Free shuttle service is available from the parking area to the entrances and mini trains ply between the parking area to the Village.

Several enhancements have been made to the public utilities available at the Village. Special prayer rooms have been constructed and security arrangements have also been made through the Civil Defence Zone. Additionally, the Village also has communication infrastructure such as Internet Access, telephones etc. ATMS and Postal service.

Global Village incorporates a variety of different restaurants featuring international cuisine. This year, several large internationally renowned coffee chains also make an appearance at the Village. The Food Court has been given allocated to a separate section of the Village.

The Fun Fair, which occupies a total of 22,000 square meters in the Global Village, is one of the largest in the world, featuring 120 different games and rides, specially being introduced to the audience in the Middle East for the very first time.

The Global Village, one of the most popular DSF attractions, consists of 38 country pavilions, a huge Fun Fair and a food court that features an equal amount of cuisines. The Village also has a rich cultural calendar of folkloric performances from different countries of the world held every day at a specially constructed stage.

The Village features Family Days on Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday. On Mondays, the Village is open only for Ladies, while Thursdays and Fridays will be open for all visitors. Global Village 2004 is jointly produced and managed by DSF and the Al-Futtaim Group, the owner/developer of Dubai Festival City.