Dubai plans 24-hour shopping for Muslim holiday

In a city where shopping and spending is a favourite pastime, Dubai's malls will open round-the-clock for three consecutive weekends from Thursday as part of the Muslim holiday.

In a city where shopping and spending is a favourite pastime, Dubai's malls will open round-the-clock for three consecutive weekends from Thursday as part of the upcoming Muslim holiday.

The Dubai Mall is pictured in September 2010.

The extended hours will apply to all shops and most food and entertainment outlets within the city's malls and cater for an expected influx of tourists over the Eid al-Adha festivities starting October 26, officials said.

Twenty-four hour shopping and other events planned by the tourism, retail and hospitality sectors in the city will "reinforce Dubai as the leading destination," the Dubai government said in a statement.

The United Arab Emirates, and more specifically Dubai, is the region's shopping and entertainment capital, attracting millions of tourists and conference-goers every year.

With other popular destinations in the Middle East, like Syria, Egypt and Lebanon, still reeling from violence and political turmoil, Arabs are increasingly favouring Dubai as their destination for the annual Muslim holiday.