Nothing beats the great outdoors.
Discover Lina Dajani Malas’s passion for nurturing leadership development for all ages and the value behind human interaction set in nature. Malas, the Managing Director of Aventura Parks, believes that fostering environments for play can help in shaping life and communication skills between peers.
UAE is the country of many adventures, exciting new physical challenges, luscious green parks, and gigantic theme parks. Prior to COVID-19, in 2020, Dubai expected to receive 20 million visitors and therefore projected an increase in the demand for leisure activities. The construction of theme parks is in the highest demand as they appeal to all ages, especially families adding to the country’s surging economy. The most famous theme parks – Legoland, Bollywood, and MARVEL – are carving the way for an increase in tourism, adding valuable exposure to the delayed EXPO 2020.
Lina Dajani Malas is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of Aventura Parks. Lina’s passion for introducing and nurturing leadership development for all ages is the centre value of her business. She has over ten years of experience in the private sector in management consulting, project and product management while working for Electronic Data Systems, Deloitte and Touche and MCI Worldcom. Lina’s view on the theme park industry in the UAE is primed to be the most popular destination in the Middle East in the post-COVID era. “With longer stays for tourists, due to the country’s effective management of COVID, and the increase of new residents, indicated by the recovery of the real estate market, the theme park industry is well-positioned for increased visitation. Dubai is a major destination for families and business travel. Dubai’s theme park landscape is vast and competes with well-known destinations throughout the world. In addition to the development of the Sustainability Pavilion at EXPO 2020, Dubai has also supported trends toward nature, meaningful experiences and back to basic activities that develop children’s life skills and interest in nature,” says Lina.
The Dubai Parks and Resorts theme park, a roughly DHS10.5 billion leisure development, offers a range of different themed parks. Aventura falls under the leisure development category, landing itself as a unique destination where friends, family, students, teams and leaders learn, grow and play in nature. Since we are moving into a more futuristic and innovative reality as a country, the majority of people are stepping away from nature and gradually adopting online life. Aventura Park offers something different that will be beneficial for everyone’s on and off-line life. The park provides experiences that enhance the lives of communities, families, and individuals.
Lina believes that experiencing nature is a basic human need and Aventura aims to reconnect customers with nature. A vast land of activities with a plush green environment is set to play, explore, learn and train in Arabia nature. Overseeing the largest outdoor adventure park in the MENA region, Lina does not compromise the importance of appreciating nature and staying humble. She firmly believes that fun and adventure breeds learning and leadership skills and that learning should be a part of everyday life experiences.
Another reason for the growth of Aventura Parks is due to the lack of competition within the region and for location, which is the total opposite in Europe and Asia. Lina shares that humans are craving experiences more than ever according to her thoughts on what the future is like for this specific business. “Theme parks vary and the common thread is that they offer escapes, entertainment and fun. Even malls are developing experiences related to shopping and are including entertainment and edutainment venues to increase footfall and create memories. With much of our lives being dominated by technology, I believe that experiences in nature, where we can connect, bond and appreciate the world around us will thrive as there is nothing like enjoying nature,” says Lina. Aventura Parks is set in a beautiful Ghaf tree forest and home to Dubai’s largest zip line park, making the location hard to miss.
About The Editor
Born in Bangladesh and raised in the Middle East, UAE and Bahrain, Reefaya is a postgraduate from The London School of Economics in U.K. and an undergraduate from Sussex University. Reefaya has an immense love for sustainable fashion, social development and art.