CAIRO: Stars Center administration is considering imposing entry fees on CityStars mall visitors during the weekends, but is still not certain about the nature and amount of said fees, sources at CityStars told Daily News Egypt.
Over the last week, frequenters of CityStars, Egypt’s biggest shopping mall, have been hearing indoor public announcements stating that Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays will soon be considered “family days, and that individual visitors will have to purchase a special access card to be allowed to enter the mall.
The source, an employee of the company operating CityStars who preferred to remain anonymous because they are not authorized to speak to the press, told Daily News Egypt that action will be taken to deal with the tremendous increase in the number of visitors to the mall.
“Nothing is confirmed yet. We are still studying the best action to take and when to take it, the source said.
Among the possible actions is the introduction of a pre-paid shopping card – in a venture with Al Ahly Bank and Visa – that can be purchased for LE 10 and charged with any amount of money that cardholders spend shopping inside the mall, where they will also be granted discounts on their purchases.
“We still haven’t decided if a certain fee will be withdrawn from the card upon entrance, or how frequently it will have to be recharged, the source said.
The source added that Stars Center administration is conducting extensive research to identify how the “family unit will be determined, and who will be eligible for free entrance. However, the source confirmed that “ruling out individual visitors is not even an option.
CityStars mall opened its second phase in December of last year with an additional 250 stores. The center is not only considered the largest shopping and entertainment center in the Middle East and Europe, but has also become a venue for many who simply want to hang out and enjoy their free time.
