Shoppers dine at the food court at Ibn Battuta Mall in Dubai. Satish Kumar / The National
Shoppers dine at the food court at Ibn Battuta Mall in Dubai. Satish Kumar / The National
Shoppers dine at the food court at Ibn Battuta Mall in Dubai. Satish Kumar / The National
Shoppers dine at the food court at Ibn Battuta Mall in Dubai. Satish Kumar / The National

UAE ranked world’s third-biggest spender on F&B


Andrew Scott
  • English
  • Arabic

DUBAI // Next time you’re in your favourite mall, keep tabs on how much you spend on food and drink.

Chances are you’ll be fork out almost Dh70 – more on average than mall hoppers in any other part of the world, apart from the Norwegians and Swedes.

Property consultancy CBRE has ranked UAE shoppers third in the world for mall food and drink, spending Dh68 each visit.

Two thirds of the UAE respondents to its survey say the food on offer greatly influences the choice of which mall they visit.

But Sergio Lopez, who recently opened Common Grounds cafe in the new extension of Dubai’s Mall of the Emirate, says business is not as good as he had hoped.

“Mall of the Emirates is a tourist destination and the Russians aren’t there any more and the Chinese have stopped coming, so that is a huge swath of people missing from the mall,” Mr Lopez said.

“Rents are high but we are willing to wait it out and see if the tide turns.”

ascott@thenational.ae

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The White Lotus: Season three

Creator: Mike White

Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell

Rating: 4.5/5

What can victims do?

Always use only regulated platforms

Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion

Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)

Report to local authorities

Warn others to prevent further harm

Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence

Key findings of Jenkins report
  • Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
  • Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
  • Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
  • Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
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