Rohith Muralya, Director at Concept Cuisine at SFC Group
With the new weekend days announced in the UAE, we expect that friday evenings will be busier than Thursday evenings once this is made live. Sunday brunches will be the new weekend thing to do. Overall a positive outlook for the industry as we can expect more people pardoning the outlets on the weekends. We feel it will have a positive impact once the private sector also follows suit along with the public sector. It’s very positive from UAE’s position as a global player in the global market, to conduct business more effectively & efficiently.There is a lot that people in the hospitality industry will have to rework from a revue management perspective for hotels to changing of F&B strategy for their weekend events.
Sanjay Vazirani, CMD, Foodlink Global Restaurants & Catering Services LLCWe welcome this positive move! A good work life balance is important and we are glad UAE is moving towards a more balanced life for its citizens in alignment with the rest of the world. The additional leisure time will definitely give a boost to the lifestyle, recreation and entertainment industries. People will look for avenues to spend their extra free time at, they might want to go out more and try new experiences and explore the various recreational things on offer in UAE. Families will get more time with each other and this will boost products and services that cater to this market. We are foreseeing more weekend footfall and revenues at our Restaurants specially lunch sales. Additionally longer weekends will lead to more boutique events at independent villas and home parties which we regularly cater at. —
Rayyan Rizvi Managing Partner at Yoko Sizzlers
It’s a step in the right direction and a win-win situation for everyone. The residents get an extra half day and it will help UAE align with global markets which will help the country to prosper.
Longer weekends will help its residents in improving their productivity & output levels.
As far as restaurants, having an extra half day means it will help in generating more revenues.
Also expect an influx of tourists as people from nearby European & Asian Countries will frequent their families a lot more in the UAE because of the aligned holidays which will generate more revenue for the hospitality industry.
Jugal Parekh, Director at Yummy Dosa
This is a huge decision by the UAE government. It will prove to be great news for the restaurant industry. A Longer weekend means that employees would like to spend more time with their friends and family. It will attract them to try or visit restaurants, beaches, or malls which should result in generating more revenues for the restaurants.
With an extra half day off on a Friday, we expect people to start their weekend outings early in the day resulting in a greater influx of customers besides full day offs Saturday and Sunday. Also, many residents working with international markets will now have the liberty to take an off on Sunday, which will again convert into higher footfalls in the restaurants. We would like to congratulate the UAE Government for this move and we welcome it with both hands.
Eti Bhasin, owner at Dhaba Lane
It’s great news that the UAE Government has undertaken, in order to boost productivity & happiness. Not only would the three day long weekend bring in a greater amount of business, but also a consistent increase in dine out sales. Dhaba Lane saw about 30% increase compared to average weekend sales, owing to the 4 day long UAE National Day Weekend.
Boost in business now that the weekends are longer
Greater number of days for vacation means more leisure time, and considering hospitality industry revival rate post the pandemic, a greater boost can be expected initially in revenue especially for restaurant business. Additionally, restaurants located in residential areas would bear the benefit of more Dine out Sales whereas in commercial areas, Delivery Sales could easily hike up. Overall, a boost in restaurant business is likely to happen with this initiative
In simple terms, long weekends contribute to a greater time employees would want to spend with their family/ friends. To each of their own, if they look forward to catching up and not spending time at home, heading out to great venues with either a great view or offer would be a good opportunity for restaurants
In 2016, H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum announced the National Program for Happiness and Well Being. This 4.5 days work week, shall surely contribute to this program’s mission and UAE shall be known for being a pioneer in establishing a happy nation.
Sweety Mungra, Owner at Eggiterian Cafe
In my opinion, extended weekend will provide more opportunities in the F & B sector. Specially for Friday, half day of work culture will definitely boost at least lunch time for corporate lunch and might increase the revenue overall if people adapt to the culture of hanging out with friends and colleagues after office hours.
In simpler terms, a longer weekend means there’s more time to spend time doing things you love, venture out and explore new things Dubai has to offer. It will boost the business in F&B and retail sectors both. People will get more time to spend with family and friends and with better work life balance it will lead to more productivity in work as well.