UAE businesses are expecting a surge in revenues this week as residents come together to celebrate the Gulf country’s 40th National Day anniversary.
Companies as diverse as beauty salons, flag distributors, hotels and cinemas are all expecting an increase in custom over the holiday period as residents gear up to mark the annual celebration.
Companies say this year’s revenues are likely to beat those of 2010, amid the excitement associated with four decades of the country’s self-rule and unity.
“We have made 300 percent more [revenues] than last year, because it’s the 40th anniversary,” said Mohammadii Qamaruddeen, marketing director for ‘Around the World Gifts and Antiques’, which sells UAE flags among its stock. “There is more demand, and it has been promoted for about three months. People expect more.”
The firm has so far sold around AED20,000 worth of car window flags, compared with just AED10,000 last year, he said. Windscreen flags are also out of stock, with only AED50,000 worth of sales last year and AED80,000 in 2011.
Flags for buildings, which cost up to AED40,000 for the largest 114m banners, generated sales of between AED200,000 and AED300,000 this year, Qamaruddeen added.
“[Last year] We didn’t have any big orders,” he said.
Other small firms such as beauty salons are also anticipating an increase in business in preparation for National Day parties. Cynthia Garau, owner of Dubai-based Pretty Lady salon, said the latest trend was for UAE flag designs on nails.
“This year everybody is asking for minx, it’s a special additive that you stick on top of the nails. They all want the UAE flag,” Garau told Arabian Business. “We are also having more people ask for henna, and many more bookings for up [hair]styles
“We expect to see 10 to 15% more services booked compared with a normal week. There was a slight increase [in business] last year, but it wasn’t much.”
N-Bar beauty salon manager Olga Ageeva, who oversees the firm’s nine branches, said she expected the biggest boost at salons which attracted local customers.
“We are expecting a lot of people, we’re fully booked,” she said. “Of course sales go up on National Day. We have some branches where we expect it to go up more because we have more local customers.”
A number of hotels in the UAE and Oman are also recording a rise in occupancy as residents take advantage of the extra day’s holiday to go on weekend breaks.
Barracuda Beach Resort in Umm Al Quwain, the Golden Tulip Khasab Hotel Resort in Musandam, as well as Sandy Beach Resort in Fujairah, are fully booked until Saturday.
“Athough in the other GCC countries there are no extended school holidays during the period, city breakers [tend to] indulge in weekend breaks for a festive atmosphere experience,” said Chiheb Ben Mahmoud, head of hotel advisory for the MENA region.
“On the corporate meetings and events side, things tend to slow down, [but] hotels try to make up for that with family oriented events, try to offer an even more family friendly proposition.”
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