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HE Mohamed Ali Al Noman, Chairman, the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Authority (SCTDA) has hailed the positive impact of the Sharjah Light Festival on hotel occupancy rates in the Emirate which touched as high as 90 per cent since the Festival was launched at a dozen locations across the Emirate including the East Coast.
The Sharjah Light Festival, the biggest of its kind in the Middle East, is an initiative to highlight the rich Arab and Islamic cultural heritage and distinct architecture of Sharjah. This year the Festival celebrates the theme of Sharjah the Capital of Islamic Culture in its presentations featuring historic buildings and landmarks.
Al Noman emphasised that since its debut in 2011 Sharjah Light Festival has been able to establish itself as one of the most popular events on the Emirate’s and regional cultural calendar and has seen great success year after year and has helped further enhance Sharjah’s profile as a complete tourism and family destination. The event has been attracting unprecedented attention from local, regional and international audiences since it was first launched in 2011.
Since its opening on February 6, the Sharjah Light Festival has attracted tens of thousands of families from across the country and the region and extensive coverage by local, regional and international media.
Al Noman said that the Authority is keen to promote Sharjah as a global destination with rich Arab and Islamic civilizational heritage and culture which is reflected in the selection of various Sharjah Light Festival locations that includes some of the finest buildings and monuments showcasing the best of Islamic architecture.
These are celebrated by international artists using modern, cutting edge technology of lighting and art on the facades of these historic buildings, mosques and landmarks to tell the story of the great Islamic heritage and civilization. The spectacular celebration goes on for nine nights bringing out the beauty of Islamic architecture and the Emirate’s landscape.
Al Noman said that Sharjah is keen to offer a world-class touristic experience and services to international visitors to the Emirate that today boasts more than 9,000 hotel rooms catering to all groups and tastes of tourists. The Emirate also offers fine and diverse international cuisine and world-class tourism infrastructure and amenities including luxury hotels, cultural centres and museums, not to mention a diverse physical landscape of towering mountains, golden beaches and year-long calendar of tourism and family festivals and events and unlimited shopping experience. All this contributes to the economic growth of the Emirate and the country, he added.
Sharjah’s tourism industry has been growing at an impressive 10 per cent annually. With its hotels and internationally acclaimed heritage, the Emirate continues to attract more and more international visitors year on year.
The Sharjah Light Festival will continue until Friday (14 February) at 12 different Sharjah landmarks. The locations featured this year include the Sharjah City Municipality, Kuwait Square, Central Souk, Cultural Palace Square, Malek Faisal Mosque, Al Taqwa (Al Majaz) Mosque, Al Majaz Waterfront, Al Qasba (internal façades), Dr Sultan Al Qassimi Centre of Gulf Studies, Hamza Bin Abdul Mottaleb Mosque in Kalba, and Omar Bin Al Khattab Mosque in Khorfakkan.
The event is free to attend and runs daily from 7.30pm. A full programme of activities and further details are available via the official website www.slf.ae
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