A tourist from Australia tries on Emirati national dress For Usha Mundada, the return of the summer season means that it is time to not only return home to enjoy the company of family and friends, but also time for one last shopping spree before escaping the season\'s heat.
\"We have already completed most of our summer shopping, which included mainly gifts for our loved ones and friends back home, such as electronics, clothes and perfumes. However, we never had any specific budget and even treated ourselves if we saw something that we liked that was reasonably priced,\" the homemaker and mother of two from India said.
However, to encourage visitors and enhance residents\' summer experiences, the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) has once again organised the month-long Summer in Abu Dhabi, which runs from June 30 to July 30, incorporating various activities and performances in the Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Centre (Adnec) and around the capital.
Many retail outlets have also organised similar programmes and festivals to encourage customers to visit their stores.
\"To enhance our customers\' experience this summer, which is usually a dull period, we are currently organising several events, including a summer camp for children, musical performances, store sales and cultural festivals,\" Praveen C.Y., Assistant Manager of Khalidiyah Mall, said.
\"We launched our summer festival last year and we received a lot of positive feedback so it was decided to expand it this year to include additional elements that both adults and children can enjoy,\" he added.
According to Jerwin Castelino, a salesperson at Techzone, an electronics store, they had experienced a high level of demand for specific items such as the iPod as well as mobile phones, mainly as gifts for students who have graduated from school or university.
\"Many of our customers are interested in acquiring iPhones...actually, the level of demand for them was so high that we are currently experiencing a slight shortage in the number we have. Emiratis are among those who buy them as well as BlackBerrys as gifts for their children but we have also teenagers and adults purchasing items such as iPods and other electronic items to give as gifts,\" the Filipino expatriate said.
Nevertheless, other retailers interviewed by Gulf News noted that while they had experienced an increase in the number of shoppers in the last two months, mainly those wishing to purchase gifts before travelling home for the summer, they do not feel events such as Summer in Abu Dhabi affect the number of customers they receive.
\"We have noticed that many people are opting to delay their summer vacations, because they want to travel either during Ramadan or Eid. During the year, we have a relatively stable number of people who visit our store, with demand increasing during our sale periods, compared to the summer months. But we see people returning during the final two weeks of Ramadan to purchase clothes and gifts for Eid,\" Rakesh Mohanan, an Indian expatriate who is a store manager at BHS, located on Hamdan Street, said.
Praveen agreed, noting that during any given year, businesses experience surges and slumps as a result of various factors, including the arrival of specific seasons.
\"In May and June we experienced a 20 per cent increase in foot traffic compared to 2010. That means that in May we had 793,000 as opposed to 618,000 in the same month last year. Also, while summer usually means fewer visitors, we believe that because of the diverse activities we have organised, the number of visitors to Khalidiyah Mall will increase by seven per cent in July compared to last July, where we had 807,000 visitors,\" he said.
Residents, especially parents, have expressed their gratitude that there are many options available that provide a respite from the summer heat for all, particularly if their travel plans have been delayed or postponed.
\"Because my husband and I both work, we are unable to take the entire two-month school summer vacation off. We are travelling in August this year and were happy to learn of all the different avenues available so our daughter, Maria, who is six years old, can have fun before we leave...she\'s already very excited at seeing what games there\'ll be in Summer in Abu Dhabi.
\"We are also considering placing her in one of the summer camps that are taking place in the hotels,\" Angelique Khoury, a French expatriate who is an advertising executive, said.
From gulfnews .