A Gulf News article today says that bookshops are thriving in the UAE:“Despite the advent of the internet, high-tech video and computers, which were thought to have dealt a blow to the public's enthusiasm for books, bookstore operators claim that they have been able to recover lost ground, thanks to the region's retail boom.
After all, the Arab world is home to more than 300 million potential readers according to recent statistics, while the UAE publishing industry itself has been growing at 15-20 per cent annually, and is estimated to be worth Dh8 to Dh10 billion.
Magrudy's, a locally-owned Dubai-based bookstore, recently accentuated the robust growth forecast of the industry when it opened its largest branch in Dubai Festival City.”
Read the entire article: Irish Eden Belleza, ‘Bookshops Thrive on Retail Boom’, Gulf News, 5 April 2008.
Dr Geoff Pound
Image: A photograph of the interior of the recently opened Magrudys Book Store at Festival City.
