After captivating over 680,000 visitors in its first season, The Square at Nad Al Sheba Gardens reopens at the end of October, ushering in a new season of elevated experiences. The destination by Shamal Holding will celebrate its official inaugural evening on 31st October 2025, welcoming guests daily from 4 PM to 12 AM. The Square continues to evolve as a refined hub for gastronomy, culture, and connection, a destination that blends Dubai’s cosmopolitan energy with an inviting community spirit.

Launched in November 2024, The Square at Nad Al Sheba Gardens quickly became a go-to lifestyle destination, renowned for its homegrown dining concepts and vibrant social energy. Building on this success, Season Two will introduce an enriched line-up of elevated experiences, thoughtfully designed for Dubai’s outdoor season.

The destination’s creative theme celebrates the idea of more, not in scale but in quality, detail, and experience.

“The Square reflects one of the most exciting shifts in how people experience Dubai, a destination that celebrates the city’s dynamic spirit through its culture, cuisine, and community,” said Abdulla Binhabtoor, CEO at Shamal. “It’s more than a venue; it’s a destination that reflects Dubai’s modern and connected spirit. With Season Two, we are taking that experience further, transforming The Square from a place to visit into a place to truly belong”.

This season, The Square welcomes back beloved homegrown favourites including Public, Home Bakery, Omar Odali, Asma, Kokoro, and the kids’ Art’ Play area — each bringing a distinct flavour of Dubai’s creative spirit. Adding to this, an array of new culinary destinations will make their debut, elevating the venue’s gastronomic offering with Cipriani Dolci, SLRP Ramen & Rolls Bar, Maxzi – The Good Food Shop, and more.

Cipriani Dolci

Making its debut at The Square, Cipriani Dolci introduces a refined taste of Italian elegance in a relaxed yet sophisticated setting. Guests can indulge in timeless classics — from freshly baked pastries and artisanal coffees to the brand’s signature Cipriani dishes — all served with understated glamour.

SLRP Ramen & Rolls Bar

The bold and playful SLRP Ramen & Rolls Bar brings its signature fun-loving energy to The Square. Expect steaming ramen bowls, crisp handrolls, and vibrant Japanese-inspired bites, perfect for laid-back evenings under the stars.

Maxzi – The Good Food Shop

Celebrated for its commitment to quality, traceable ingredients and wholesome dining, Maxzi – The Good Food Shop joins The Square’s curated line-up, offering a fresh take on conscious cuisine that feels both nourishing and stylish.

Home Bakery Kitchen

A returning favourite, Home Bakery Kitchen unveils its exclusive hole-in-the-wall Milkshake & Hot Chocolate concept, serving indulgent shakes and rich, comforting hot chocolates — the perfect treat for cool Dubai evenings.

The destination itself has undergone a thoughtful refresh, introducing a more vibrant, experience-led layout. Visitors will enjoy enhanced infrastructure, including parking for over 550 cars, and new water features such as a tranquil koi pond, adding to the venue’s leisurely, resort-style ambience.

A dynamic calendar of live shows, cultural activations, and family-friendly events will ensure that no two visits are ever the same.

Staying true to its community-driven ethos, Shamal continues to champion local businesses, support inclusive spaces, and deliver high-quality, design-forward programming that appeals across generations. As Dubai enters its outdoor season, The Square reaffirms its place as the city’s must-visit open-air destination — where food, culture, and connection come together effortlessly under the open sky.

Sun Siyam Vilu Reef the flagship property of Sun Siyam, is celebrating its 27th Anniversary with a week-long events centered on culinary and community engagement. The resort hosted comprehensive activities, including team building sports and competitive cooking judged by two Maldivian guest chefs, to showcase the talent of both its island team and students from F. Magoodhoo School on 25^th and 26^th of October.

The culinary competitions were judged by two prominent industry experts. Chef Fathimath Umar, who serves as the Secretariat of the Chef Guild Maldives and is a certified World Chef’s Judge in Culinary Arts and Pastry Arts, currently teaching Culinary Arts at Villa College and Chef Mariyam Shiuna, a WACS Continental Judge and Associate Lecturer at the Maldives National University.

Honoring the resort’s history and the incredible dedication of our team since 1998, this milestone anchors our legacy while setting the course for many more years of delivering the authentic Maldivian spirit to our cherished guests.

“Reaching the 27th anniversary reflects our dedication to service and extraordinary experiences,” said Resort Manager, Mr. Thoha Yoosuf. “By celebrating culinary talent, we not only honour the creativity and hard work of our team but also strengthen our bond with the local community through the shared language of food.”

The celebrations highlighted the resorts’ role in preserving community bonds and elevating Maldivian talent and traditions, defining 27 years of Maldivian Hospitality.

The value of MENA’s hospitality market is set to grow from US$310 billion in 2025 to more than US$487 billion by 2032, according to data released ahead of the Future Hospitality Summit – FHS World, Madinat Jumeirah Dubai, 27-29 October.

The travel and tourism sector is projected to contribute US$367 billion to the Middle East economy and support 7.7 million jobs this year, says the World Travel and Tourism Council. International visitor spending is expected to reach nearly US$194 billion, up nearly a quarter from 2019, pre-pandemic levels, with domestic spending forecast to hit US$113 billion.

As of Q2 2025, the Middle East’s hotel construction pipeline reached an all-time high of 650 projects with 161,574 rooms. At the end of June, 337 projects, with almost 86,500 rooms, were under construction, with 147 projects due to start by Q2 2026.  

Saudi Arabia tops the Middle Eastern hotel construction chart, with more than 92,000 rooms across 342 projects. Next is Egypt with 127 projects and a record-high room count of over 28,000, followed by the UAE with 100 projects (25,470 rooms); Oman with 27 projects (4,709 keys) and Qatar with 16 projects (nearly 3,500 rooms).

The unprecedented hospitality, tourism and infrastructure expansion reinforces the region’s position as a global magnet for investment, say experts.

Amr El Nady, Head of Hotels & Hospitality MEA and Managing Director, Global Hotel Desk at Jones Lang Lasalle, said: “Saudi Arabia is targeting 150 million tourist arrivals annually by 2030, while Egypt aims for 30 million international visitors by 2028. Both nations are seeking to significantly increase tourism’s contribution to their GDP, with KSA targeting 10% and Egypt 15%. This strategic focus is driving substantial hospitality investment, with mega-projects like NEOM, The Red Sea Project, and AlUla in KSA, alongside Egypt’s New Administrative Capital, Ras Al Hekma, South Med and Red Sea developments.

“The surge in development creates opportunities for both major international hotel operators and boutique brands to diversify their portfolios by introducing new concepts ranging from ultra-luxury desert resorts to culturally immersive heritage properties. The diversification strategy allows operators to cater to evolving traveller preferences while supporting the countries’ objectives of transforming their economies through sustainable tourism growth and positioning themselves as premier global destinations.”

JLL added that liquidity in the hotel investment landscape remains remarkably robust, underpinned by resilient hotel trading performance and increasing tourist arrivals. Performance data shows year on year growth in terms occupancy and ADR metrics, reflecting the sector’s operational strength and market confidence.

Amr El Nady added: “This strong performance has significantly enhanced appetite from regional and international investors – from high-net-worth individuals to institutional players – all seeking high-yielding, income-generating hotel assets and mixed-use developments, particularly across the UAE market. The region’s investment appeal continues to attract diverse capital sources drawn to its strategic positioning and growth potential.

“Last year, JLL forecasted US$1.2 billion in Dubai hotel transactions, and current market activity indicates we are on track to exceed this milestone, further demonstrating sustained investor confidence.”

In the UAE, Dubai’s hospitality sector – which has around 10,000 new rooms on the way between now and 2027 – continues to deliver an outstanding performance, according to the hospitality division at leading real estate advisory group and property consultant, Cavendish Maxwell.

“Occupancy levels rose to 81% in H1 2025, an increase of 2.5% year-on-year,” said Vidhi Shah, Director, Head of Commercial Valuation at Cavendish Maxwell. “Meanwhile ADR across Dubai’s hotels and resorts reached US$159, up 4.7%. With its hospitality sector continuing to lead the way in setting new benchmarks in safety, inclusivity and connectivity, Dubai remains a premium, global destination for leisure and business travellers, in turn opening up a plethora of new investment opportunities.”

Oman is also increasingly becoming a hot spot for hospitality investment, with tourism expected to contribute 5% to GDP by 2030 and 10% by 2040 – and overtake transport and logistics to become the country’s second most important industry after hydrocarbons.

Oman is set to boost hotel room inventory by 25% by 2030, with 9,600 new keys on the way in the next five years, and 2,600 by the end of 2025, recent insight from Cavendish Maxwell shows. In H1 this year, more than 1.1 million guests checked in to 3-5 hotels, where revenues rose more than 18% to US$367 million. The strong performance led to almost 5% growth in hospitality employment, with 10,800 people now working in the industry.  

The Middle East’s continued growth in tourism and hospitality is being further boosted by various government campaigns and initiatives across the region to encourage investment, international visits and business set up.

In KSA, upcoming global events like Expo 2030 and the FIFA World Cup 2034 are boosting already strong demand for real estate, including project in the hospitality sector.  In addition, from January 2026, foreigners will be able to purchase real estate assets in designated zones – a landmark development set to further deepen investor appetite.

Investment and real estate is a key track at FHS World, with more than 30 presentations, panel debates, workshops and one-to-one conversations covering everything from smart capital to sustainability and investment, cross border strategies to building global partnerships, investing in mixed-use projects and much more.  Visit futurehospitality.com/world/agenda for subjects and speakers across the three-day programme.