In Dubai Even Lunch Breaks Are Different

PR Log (Press Release) – Feb 16, 2009 – DUBAI // Office workers from Hult International Business School queued up at Jumeirah Beach Residence yesterday to take a 45-metre bungee jump on what proved to be an office lunch break with a difference.

“We wanted to take a break from the traditional working lunch and liven up the office,”
said David Nihill, outing organizer and business development director at Hult.

Mr. Nihill, an Irish national who moved to Dubai from London in September seeking a change in lifestyle decided to take the plunge backwards “It adds a bit more fun to it and gives us something more exciting to talk about in the office,” he said.

“That was amazing,” said Nadia Ramsewak, director of recruitment at Hult. “I hesitated at first, as it is one thing I thought I would never do.”

Paz Tzamas, from Napa Bungee, said the towers around Dubai Marina dwarf the crane from which the people jumped. “It is about the same as jumping off the 12th floor of a building. We’ve never had a group of office workers do it before but it’s a trend we’d be happy to accommodate. Lets face it, they could do with the entertainment sometimes” he said.

Matt Chambers, a regional manager with Hult who also relocated from the UK, did his first jump five years ago. “This was my second jump but I had forgotten what it was like. It’s a wicked feeling and definitely beats my traditional lunch time sandwich. I was told to focus on the Burj al Arab in the distance and jump,” he said.

Dubai’s population is continuing to grow despite reports that the economic downturn has resulted in the loss of thousands of jobs and with this kind of lifestyle it’s not hard to see why. The emirate issued 1,000 more visas a day than it cancelled last month, Raed Safadi, the chief economist for the Government of Dubai, said last week at a conference.

Photo:
David Nihill bungee jumps off a crane above Jumeirah Beach in Dubai.
By: Linda Kovacs