Ferrari World Abu Dhabi plans to add rides as it anticipates rising visitor numbers following the opening of Yas Mall later this year.
The park aims to add seven rides over the next three years, increasing its capacity by 40 per cent. The construction of these will start by the end of the year, said Jesse Vargas, the theme park’s general manager, who took over in February.
It also plans to expand three of its 20 existing rides during the same period. Ferrari World is home to the world’s fastest roller coaster Formula Rossa, which has a top speed of 240kph.
The facility, spread over 86,000 square metres that is accessible to the public, has five restaurants and Mr Vargas also expects to increase these options. The theme park, owned by the Abu Dhabi Government, is operated by Farah Leisure Parks Management.
Yas Mall is scheduled to open in November, in time for the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix between November 20 and 23. There are 5,000 more tickets available for the race this year, increasing to 60,000.
“We are working closely with the mall management team to position ourselves in relation to Yas Mall,” Mr Vargas said. “For any tourism destination it’s all about critical mass and malls make for a compelling destination that people might want to visit for multi-day stay, which we anticipate will happen in Yas Island as well; and guests might want to spend more than one day or two days to visit all the amenities.”
Yas Island has seven hotels, most of which run close to full capacity during the race weekend.
Aldar, which built Ferrari World, is also constructing Yas Mall, which will eventually have 400 retailers and a 20-screen cinema spread over 235,000 sq metres. Located right next to the Yas Mall, the four-year-old theme park will have an entrance allowing direct access to the mall.
India, China, Russia and Saudi Arabia are some of the top markets for the theme park.
In April, about 304,600 guests, 29 per cent more year-on-year, checked into Abu Dhabi’s 153 hotels and hotel apartments, according to Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority.
In the first quarter, 834,771 guests, a rise of 32 per cent, visited the city. India, the UK and Germany were the top international markets.
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