Abu Dhabi: The newly-opened Yas Mall is having a positive impact on hotels in Yas Island as an increasing number of people opt to spend more time visiting the island’s attractions, according to Clive Dwyer, director of destination management at Yas Island.
Hotels on the island saw nearly 100 per cent occupancy in December, marking a record month, according to Dwyer, who attributed the rise to Yas Mall.
Abu Dhabi’s biggest mall opened for business in mid-November last year.
“The impact [of Yas Mall] has been pretty much immediate. It was great to see the mall open during the Grand Prix because a lot of visitors to Abu Dhabi used the mall. Afterwards, we have seen continued strong visitation. Yas Mall is already brining a significant number of visitors in the first year of its operations, representing an exciting new era for Yas Island,” Dwyer told Gulf News in an interview.
Yas Mall’s developer, Aldar Properties, said that the mall was expected to attract 20 million people in its first year of operations.
The figure is a significant increase from the four million people who visited Yas Island on annual basis. Estimates also showed that nearly 30 per cent of visitors to the mall were not residents of Abu Dhabi.
According to Dwyer, the island is already seeing a large increase in the utilisation of Yas Express, the shuttle bus connecting landmarks on the island, as visitors use it from transportation between the hotels and the mall.
“We’re enjoying a spillover effect as a destination. Restaurants, golf courses, hotels and theme parks are experiencing increased visitation because people are making it a day or a weekend on Yas Island because of Yas Mall,” he said.
Dwyer added that all the [attractions] on Yas Island are recording growth in business and turnover since November, “and the game changer there was the opening of Yas Mall. What happened was that the figure stayed high in December in occupancy in hotels and restaurants.”
In 2014, hotels across Yas Island saw an average of 30 per cent increase in occupancy year-on-year, and while the hotels easily fill up during holiday seasons, Dwyer said the opening of Yas Mall will lift up business during the quieter months.
Next summer, for example, the island is expected to see increased visitation from Saudi Arabia and Russia.
In addition to lifting its number of visitors, Dwyer said Yas Island is aiming to increase length of stay, and with the mall, visitors will now have more activities on offer.
As for dining outlets on the island, Dwyer said that the mall is increasing the range of offerings.
“We thought [that restaurants in the mall might take away the spotlight from those on the island and in the hotels], but the dining experience on Yas Mall is very family-focused, so there’s no serving of alcohol, for example. So, I think what’s happened is that Yas Island is being recognised as a dining destination,” he said.
The opening of the mall has also changed the demographic nature of visitors to the island. With more retail offering including a hypermarket, an increasing number of people from the local community who live close to the island are visiting regularly.
“If you look at property developments through Raha Beach, it now has Yas Mall as a local shopping centre. Likewise, international tourists and people doing layovers now have Yas Island to visit, and you’ve got the drive market from the broader UAE, and even the GCC,” the mall director said.
While Yas Mall is attracting more and more people, the island still faces a challenge in terms of finding a balance between local and international visitors. Dwyer said that the number of Russian visitors has taken a dip, but that was balanced by the increasing number of Indian, and Chinese visitors.
