Megan Singleton: BloggerAtLarge writer on the latest unexpectedly popular tourist attraction

New data have revealed 105 million travellers stopped by an unexpected attraction in the last year.

The Dubai mall saw millions of people stopping by to check out the aquarium and underwater zoo, the flight simulator, the Olympic-sized ice rink and the largest indoor VR park in the world.

BloggerAtLarge's Megan Singleton says this is top of an ever-expanding range of shops and eateries. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudgin
from News TALKS'B.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Time to Talk Travel. Megan Singleton joins me now blogger
at large dot com. Good morning, Good morning, So the
most visited place on Earth. I thought Piney took a
good stab at just saying New York.

Speaker 3 (00:25):
No, No, but I would have sort.

Speaker 2 (00:27):
Of gone for things like, oh, Eiffel Tower, taj Mahal,
you know those large kind of.

Speaker 4 (00:34):
Iconics, iconic attraction. Somebody text and say Athens. You know,
all these sort of classic iconic places that we sort
of travel to at some point in our lives because
they're full of history and culture and and things.

Speaker 3 (00:48):
But no, m no.

Speaker 5 (00:52):
People might be a little bit disappointed to know that
that last year, in twenty twenty three, one hundred and
five million visitors visited the do buy more. And what's
more is if twelve hundred shops spread over one point
two million square meters wasn't big enough, they are spending

(01:12):
six hundred million dollars on expanding it. There's I've got
a press release this week two hundred and forty more
shops and eateries will be in there. You've got also
not just the shopping. So if Mama wants to go shopping,
don't you worry, because the kids can or dad or
whatever can go and fly in Emirates a three eighty

(01:34):
flight simulator.

Speaker 3 (01:36):
They can land in Dubai Airport. How cool.

Speaker 5 (01:39):
Actually, forget the shopping. I'd actually do that. There's an
Olympic size ice rink there. We've already spoken about the
ten million litter aquarium that you can actually dive in
and feed the sharks yourself and explore all of the aquarium.
And you know there's like it takes a long time
to see all this. You'd want one and a half

(02:01):
hours just in the aquarium. You know you're going to
want about an hour just for the flight simulator. And
what about when you get your skates on you go skating.
They've got the largest indoor VR park in the world
with something like thirty fantastical worlds and adventures that you
can put your eye goggles on and disappear into some
sort of fantasia. You could spend up to three hours

(02:23):
just doing that and then outside and we've talked about
this when I was there is the Dubai fountains, which
are like I don't know how much times bigger than
the Billagio designed by the same people, but incredible fountains
that are choreographed to music. And then of course you've
got the tallest building in the world, the Burg Khalifa,
right there as well. So if anyone's doing a stopover

(02:45):
and Dubai on their way somewhere, I think you wouldn't
get out of them all for a day.

Speaker 2 (02:50):
One hundred and five million visitors.

Speaker 3 (02:53):
Yeah, and a year. Yeah, And I was there last year.

Speaker 4 (02:57):
And is it busy when you're does it feel busy? No, Kaosi, no,
because I couldn't.

Speaker 3 (03:01):
No, not at all. There's a lot of walking because.

Speaker 5 (03:05):
Well you're all trapesing one point two million square meters.

Speaker 3 (03:09):
I can't even picture that.

Speaker 5 (03:10):
And you know, but there's a lot of walking, so
put your sensible shoes on.

Speaker 3 (03:15):
It doesn't feel crowded, you know, because you've.

Speaker 5 (03:19):
Got all these other people that disappeared off into these
other attractions. I mean, it's something like I think I
might have made a note something like thirty five or
twenty six cinemas, cinema screens, so you could just.

Speaker 3 (03:31):
Go, like all the weathers in bed, you just go
watch a movie. Yeah, Vegas. You'd lose days.

Speaker 2 (03:39):
You want there and you'd lose.

Speaker 3 (03:40):
Days and each other. I know, and I don't.

Speaker 5 (03:43):
Actually, you'd have to have a bit of a we
won't just meet you buy this escalator because you know
you'd never find the right escalator. You would need some
sort of tracking device on your family members, I feel.

Speaker 2 (03:56):
But you can buy those, you know, you know that's true.
Here we go, kids for going in.

Speaker 4 (04:02):
Just put that in your pocketyone, put your Apple ear
tag and your pop there go.

Speaker 2 (04:06):
You know how I sort of said. The Eiffel Tower
in Paris they welcomed to six point three million visitors
last year, and they were excited because that came in.
It more than more than came in twenty nineteen before COVID.

Speaker 3 (04:20):
So and I think New York.

Speaker 4 (04:22):
One hundred and five million, Yeah no, and New York
gets about fifty million something like that visitors.

Speaker 3 (04:29):
Yeah, it's astonishing.

Speaker 5 (04:32):
So anyway, all that to say is they're doing a great,
big expansion. There's also one hundred and one hundred and
fifty five million year old dinosaur skeleton in there that
you could just go. I mean, I would aggle at
that for a good half hour.

Speaker 3 (04:46):
You know I'll probably take you half hour to walk
to it, to be honest, from the entrance.

Speaker 2 (04:50):
Amazing, amazing. And I think what we've learned from Megan
today is if you're going to Dubai and you're stopping
over and you're thinking you have a day, you might
just want to add add an extra one

Speaker 1 (04:58):
On For more from the Sunday session with Francesca Rudgin,
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