Ski Dubai
Wednesday afternoon we toured Ski Dubai in the Mall of the Emirates on Sheikh Zayed Road. Frank from Australia was our tour guide and he showed us everything from how the snow is made to how they market their ski pass packages.
Ski Dubai is more like a winter wonderland trapped inside a freezer. You walk in and can circle through a maze of tunnels covered in snow and decorated with ice sculptures. There are areas to build snowmen, sled and relax while drinking a hot coco and experiencing the cold. You can pay just to enter the play area or you can get the gear and ski. They have multiple points of sales to encourage people to try new things and the whole area is visible by people in the mall to encourage them to enter. They are planning to bring in penguins and build a gondola to pass over the area in the near future.
The strategy is to not only get people to spend money at the ski resort but to also to get mall visitors to stay longer, eat dinner at their Aspen cafe and maybe even sleep at their $5000 hotel that overlooks the ski hill!
Ski Dubai is more like a winter wonderland trapped inside a freezer. You walk in and can circle through a maze of tunnels covered in snow and decorated with ice sculptures. There are areas to build snowmen, sled and relax while drinking a hot coco and experiencing the cold. You can pay just to enter the play area or you can get the gear and ski. They have multiple points of sales to encourage people to try new things and the whole area is visible by people in the mall to encourage them to enter. They are planning to bring in penguins and build a gondola to pass over the area in the near future.
The strategy is to not only get people to spend money at the ski resort but to also to get mall visitors to stay longer, eat dinner at their Aspen cafe and maybe even sleep at their $5000 hotel that overlooks the ski hill!
All of the gear is available to rent and they have designed a complex system to keep the renting and returning process seamless. The bottlenecks of the business are in the drying of the gear. They rent out hundreds of snow suits during the busy seasons and its hard to wash and dry them at the pace of demand. Of course, I had to ask how long the gear lasts considering they are washing and drying it every time- they said they have to buy new jackets every year and destroy the old ones since they have the Ski Dubai logo on them and therefore donating them would dilute the brand (imagine all the little kindergartners we could suit up!) He did try and reassure me however that the skis are not destroyed but rather sold after they begin to wear and tear. The Ski Dubai strategy is to offer the top quality winter fun and therefore, they ensure all the gear is new, dry, clean and fresh smelling.
I found the whole winter environment pretty spectacular but must say as a skier and Minnesotan- the snow conditions and runs probably were not the main reason to visit Ski Dubai. We didn't ski because we were short on time and didn't want to pay $90 but I could tell that the snow was a tad icy and not exactly Utah powder. However, everyone looked like they were having fun and there was even a women dressed in a ski suit abaya getting private lessons! I can't imagine a market for people wanting to experience the cold and snow in Minnesota but it was definitely a novelty for the Middle East.
Ski Dubai Facts
22,500m2 covered with real snow all year round - (equivalent to 3 football fields)
Temperature maintained at a comfortable -1º to -2º
85 meters high (approximately 25 stories) and 80 meters wide
5 different runs of varying difficulty and length, longest run of 400 meters
Full capacity of 1500 guests
Freestyle zone
Corporate and group bookings
3,000m2 Snow Park with a snow cavern
Quad chairlift, tow lift and flying carpets
Mountain resort theme
Rental of quality equipment and clothing included in the ticket price
Qualified professional instructors
State of the art ticketing system
Changing areas with locker rental
Private kids party rooms
Exclusive retail shop - Snow Pro
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