Season 26 of Dubai’s Global Village welcomed 7.8 million guests

Dubai’s multicultural family destination for shopping, and entertainment, Global Village, welcomed 7.8 million guests during its recently concluded season.

Season 26 of the event opened on October 26, 2021 and concluded on May 7, 2022, during which it witnessed more than 80 cultures represented across 26 pavilions.

The 26th edition of @GlobalVillageAE attracted 7.8 million visitors. #Dubai pic.twitter.com/Hj9i8t3cDg

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) May 8, 2022

Global Village’s season brought together a line-up of shows, festivals, events and live concerts. The park had extended its last season, allowing guests to enjoy Eid Al Fitr festivities.

Read: Dubai’s Global Village announces extension till May

The longest season ever, the park was open for 194 days.

In a move towards, digitalisation, more than 94 per cents outlets accepted card payments this season, while contactless payments witnessing an increase of 300 per cent.

Meanwhile, the park aims to reach 100 per cent of outlets offering cashless payments in the upcoming Season 27, scheduled to return on October 25, 2022.

Global Village also saw a 700 per cent increase in online ticket sales.

Read: Dubai’s Global Village offers online entry ticket for Dhs15, prices Dhs20 for ticket at premises

Global Village launched a fully digitised one-stop portal for its travel trade partners allowing them to tailor its packages for their clients. The entertainment destination witnessed over 595 per cent increase in travel trade sales versus Season 25 and 200 per cent over the previous season.

Guests could access over 200 F&B outlets and a new railway market inspired by Thailand’s ‘Umbrella Market’, with 14 train carriages hosting over 30 vendors from Asia and around the world, a statement said. Over 400 artists from around the world performed on the stages at Global Village, which presented over 40,000 performances during the season.

Bader Anwahi, chief executive officer at Global Village, said: “Global Village has been a unique cultural destination for guests from across the globe for more than two decades. We also strive to contribute to the economy by supporting local entrepreneurs and attracting international businesses to Dubai. This year, 60 per cent of our partners were new to Global Village, which keeps our offering fresh and our guests coming back season after season. The improvements we made and our focus on guest experience led to over 90 per cent of guests declaring their intent to revisit this season. We also continue to make progress with our digital transformation plans using advanced data analytics, behind-the-scenes IoT and AI technologies to better understand our guests, strengthen our infrastructure and improve efficiencies.”