Why innovative and groundbreaking entertainment will be vital in securing the success of the region's retail destinations.
Malls are being planned, developed and launched across the region with such gusto and unflinching nerve that it is hard to imagine them not securing huge footfalls and ringing tills.
However, as malls in other countries such as the US close their doors, there is a need to get the mall offering right in the Middle East to secure future success.
The general consensus among industry experts is that the entertainment offering will be essential in achieving this.
Indeed, coupled with the attitude predominant in the region that bigger and brighter is better, coming up with the right entertainment package is the only way to keep people coming back to your business, according to general manager of the Magic Planet brand, Silvio Liedtke.
Magic Planet is a leading family entertainment centre with sites in locations across the Middle East, including Mall of the Emirates based in Dubai.
"In our survey of customers we realised that 24% of them had come to the Mall of the Emirates solely to go to Magic Planet.
"But there needs to be a total offering of leisure, experience and lifestyle as part of the mall serving," he adds.
Liedtke believes there are two main points to consider to achieve success.
"The first is the basics - the right mall in the right location. The second is not to sit back and enjoy yourself. We have set ourselves as the benchmark for in-mall entertainment, but we need to always advance.
"That is why we have a huge investment programme as part of our business model. People quickly get accustomed to the high quality of the offering and they quickly become bored," he adds.
Through maintaining loyalty by supplying different products and catering for different tastes, Liedtke sees a roadmap for family entertainment centre success, but resting on one's laurels is not an option.
We can't be arrogant. A key factor of our success is the fact that the facilities are close to the food courts. They are carefully integrated to create an open wide space where a family can be doing different activities, but only be a 100 yards apart from each other.
General manager of Ski Dubai, Mall of the Emirates, Mike Mahoney also believes new ideas are essential for the success of any mall in the Middle East.
"Innovation and new ideas are the need of the hour," he explains.
"But you need to be doing it now or you are not competitive. No customer wants to see what they have already experienced - that's the environment we are in, they want fresh innovation," he adds.
Ski Dubai was the company that brought snow to the desert, Mahoney continues, and it is that type of bold gesture that will secure the return customer.
"Our offering at Ski Dubai is clearly that type of world class experience. It's what people expect these days," he says.
"When you provide the customer with world firsts you set customer expectations very high; you make it difficult for yourself so we are constantly using our product as a yardstick to be measured against."
However, this need to constantly push the boundaries demands a regular reappraisal of what you are offering the customer, according to Mahoney.
"When we consider the future we have to make sure that it is not just an also ran. We have to be targeting the next generation and exciting our customer more than the opposition," Mahoney says.
But the entertainment section of the mall has to realise it is part of an overall package, Mahoney explains.
"An excellent retail mix along with entertainment facilities is what it's all about these days. It's the key to the success of shopping malls - we've gone into that generation.
"Customers are attracted to a mall for a combination of reasons such as shopping in tandem with going to the cinema," he adds.
This gives rise to the opportunity to gain business from impulse buyers - people who come to the mall to shop but utilise the entertainment facilities because they are attracted by the high visibility of the service that is being offered in the mall.
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