Dubai has been dubbed the “shopping capital of the Middle East.” Large numbers of shopping tourists from countries within the region and from as far as Eastern Europe, Africa and the Indian Subcontinent visit Dubai for shopping. Dubai Duty-Free at Dubai International Airport offers duty-free merchandise to the tourists using the airport. Dubai is one of the most expensive shopping destinations in the world.
Souks are Arab market. They are found all over Dubai. Bur Dubai souk specializes in textiles and fabrics. Jewellery and lustrous gold bars are found in the Gold Souk, while soothing scents are sold in Perfume Souk.
The Dubai Mall is a shopping mall in Dubai completed in 2008. It is the largest mall in the world by total land area. It has a total retail floor area of 502,000 square metres. The mall has over 1,200 shops. In 2011, it was the most visited building in the world. Every year it has over 54 million visitors. It ranks 26th in the world in terms of gross usable space.
Dubai Mall
Its facilities include a 250-room luxury hotel, 22 cinema screens plus 120 restaurants and cafes. The Mall has over 14,000 parking spaces across 3 car parks, with valet services and a car locator ticketing system. The Mall also has Olympic-sized Dubai Ice Rink for skating.
The Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo, with more than 300 species of marine animals, including sharks and rays, is located in the Dubai Mall. VR Park Dubai is also located in the Mall. It has a floor area of 76,000 sq ft.
The park is dedicated to virtual reality under the name of VR Park Dubai. Reel Cinemas is a 22-screen cinema located in the mall that has four cinema suites, and 17 commercial halls. Rainforest Cafe opened in 2009 faces the aquarium and is made to emulate tropical ruins with moving ruins and light shows. Hysteria is a haunted house. It is decorated with special effects, fog lights and strobe lights. KidZania is an interactive children’s sized edutainment theme park.
Dubai Mall is owned by Emaar Properties, one of the biggest developers in Dubai.
