Physical games at Entertainment City attract children

Many residents who visited the newly-opened Entertainment City yesterday found “real life” games and physical activities to be more engaging for children than games played on gadgets, it is learnt.
Located at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre, Entertainment City hosts several indoor entertainment activities as part of the annual Qatar Summer Festival (QSF).
‘Real life’ games of some popular mobile applications such as Angry Birds have been attracting many children since day one of the festival.
“We actually brought our son here for him to try the virtual reality games but surprisingly he liked to stay at the Giant Games zone and inflatable play area,” said an Arab father who was with his family at the venue.
He also lauded the efforts of Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) in providing a diverse range of entertainment offerings this year.
Besides the thrill rides, he noted that many of the activities and games at the month-long festival encouraged visitors to walk more at the venue.
In one of the zones, children enjoy running and picking up as many plastic balls as they can while being chased by a ‘character’
inside a maze.
The Go Karting zone was also a big hit with a large number of adults and children queuing at the entrance to wait for their turn to drive and race with other participants.
One of the QSF staff observed that “children seemed to be so excited to burn a lot of calories” while inside the City.
“This has been the case since the opening two days ago,” she noted, hoping that such activities and games will help in promoting a healthy and active lifestyle among children in Qatar.
Satish, an Indian father who works as an engineer at a construction firm in Doha, echoed this statement saying his two young children were so busy roaming and running around the place.
The City is hosting more than 100 games, rides, and entertainment activities, as well as live performances on stage from 1pm to 11pm (Sunday to Thursday) and from 1pm to midnight on Fridays.
Another QSF staff who had worked in previous festivals expressed optimism that this year’s celebration will attract more visitors due to the numerous entertainment offerings and the venue’s accessibility and proximity (West Bay) to Doha residents.
QTA has also significantly reduced ticket prices for the rides and games this year at the City to entice more visitors to come.
A major tourism event taking place from August 1 to 31, QSF 2016 aims to promote Qatar as a top family destination with a variety of entertainment activities and shopping promotion especially during the off peak season.