Play areas growing in Middle East
Play areas within commercial developments in the Middle East, notably as part of a family entertainment centre, continue to grow.
“The kids’ entertainment and soft play area manufacturers are going strong and will witness continuous growth in the near future,” says Sharif Rahman, CEO at IEC, the organizers of the major DEAL trade show held annually in Dubai. Read more
Cinépolis set to enter the GCC
Cinépolis, the fourth largest exhibition circuit globally and the largest cinema exhibitor in Latin America, has partnered with Middle Eastern retail conglomerate Al Tayer Group to build and operate cinemas across the GCC region.
This venture will introduce Cinépolis’ world-class cinema-going experience – high-touch theatre concepts, including Luxury, Premium, Macro XE, 4D Emotion technology and kid-approved Cinépolis Junior auditoriums – to Gulf audiences for the first time. Read more
World's largest indoor ski resort' coming to China -- via Dubai
China's latest import is snow. From Dubai. Well, not quite. Dubai-based retail giant Majid Al Futtaim -- the company behind Ski Dubai, the Middle East's first indoor ski slope -- has announced it is helping develop what it claims will be the world's largest indoor snow and ski resort for Shanghai.
The company says the snow park, called Wintastar Shanghai, will be 90,000 square meters (nearly 1 million square feet) -- or more than three times the size of Ski Dubai, the largest indoor ski resort in the world when it opened in 2005. Read more
KidzMondo plans mini city for Melbourne, Australia
Edutainment brand, KidzMondo, is launching a new mini city in Melbourne, Australia, that aims to provide “cognitive and personal growth” for its young visitors.
The $30 million attraction will be located in Melbourne’s Eastern suburbs and will be for children between the ages of 2 and 14.   Read more
Play Zone scores 150,000
Landmark Leisure is reporting a high take-up of its Play Zone membership, utilising the soft play areas in its Fun City, Fun Ville and Fun Works FEC locations across the Middle East.
There are now over 150,000 members of the club in which parents pay AED79 for one month or AED129 for three months’ free play in the attractions.   Read more
Al Hokair Centres to introduce VR zones
Al Hokair Entertainment, the Saudi-based family entertainment group, will add Virtual Reality gaming zones to its 91 Sparky’s entertainment centres in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Mishal Al Hokair, executive vice president and general manager of the Entertainment Sector, said: “We are getting ready for the millennials, the digital natives, they need more immersive games and they exactly know what they want from entertainment centres such as ours.  Read more

Kid-dedicated screen debuts at new Reel Cinema in Dubai
Dubai Reel Cinemas has opened a six-screen movie theatre in the Springs Souk Mall, Dubai, which will concentrate on attracting youngsters and their families.
It has a dedicated screen for children called Reel Junior, which has comfy beanbag seats as well as traditional seating. The remaining five screens can seat 200 people.  Read more