Arabian Centres, the leading developer, owner and operator of shopping malls in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, has reported a steady quarterly increase in footfall traffic to its malls since the beginning of the year. Footfall traffic increased 27% in Q3 (July-September 2015) compared to the first three months of the year (January-March 2015). The visitor traffic registered for the third quarter grew 14% compared to the second quarter (April- June 2015) of the year. The increase in visitor traffic during the third quarter can be attributed to Arabian Centres' enhancement of the shopping and entertainment experience for visitors to its malls. According to the latest figures released by the mall operator, footfall increased 7% during this year's Hajj season and the holiday week of Eid Al-Adha, adding to the festivities of the mall's entertainment and lifestyle offerings. Nakheel Mall, the latest development by Arabian Centres in Riyadh, led the way with an impressive 20 percent increase in mall visitors during Eid Al-Adha. Other popular shopping destinations in the Arabian Centres portfolio, including Mall of Arabia in Jeddah, and Khurais Mall in Riyadh, also saw 7% growth in average daily footfall during the holiday week of Eid. The CEO of Arabian Centres said: "We are seeing the results of our efforts to improve the shopping and entertainment experience for people coming to our malls. We have introduced new international brands, exciting new food and entertainment concepts and we will continue to roll these out across the country. As we announce more developments in the coming months, we will work with our retail partners to capture further growth opportunities and strengthen Saudi Arabia's position as the largest retail market in the Middle East." Arabian Centres had earlier reported that its properties attracted 15 million visitors during this year's Ramadan, an increase of 12 percent year-on-year, resulting in the company's highest ever footfall for the holy month. As part of its commitment to further promote the Kingdom's retail sector among international retailers, Arabian Centres will be participating at two leading retail industry conferences in November 2015 – ReCon MENA in Dubai, UAE; and MAPIC in Cannes, France. — SG
