DUBAI SHOPPING FESTIVAL 2009

THE LEADING SHOPPING AND FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT EVENT IN THE WORLD

The city of Dubai has undergone massive changes in the past decade to emerge as a world-class destination with a high level of infrastructure. Dubai Shopping Festival has played a major role in promoting this small but vibrant city to the stature it enjoys around the world today.

The results of promoting Dubai have been obvious as seen in the growth of sectors such as retail, hospitality, and travel and tourism. In the inaugural edition of DSF in 1996, 1.6 million visitors spent about AED 2.15 billion in 43 days. By the year 2008, which witnessed the 13th edition of DSF, the visitor numbers had touched 3.2 million and the spending figure had reached a massive AED 10 billion.

Today, DSF is a leading global event that employs innovation to offer the finest in shopping, winning, and family entertainment. Every year, it attracts world-renowned entertainment events to Dubai, many of which make their Middle East debut during DSF. DSF also highlights the latest destinations and attractions in Dubai that are a symbol of the emirate’s growing popularity and prosperity and state-of-the-art infrastructure.


DSF is unlike any other event in the world. It is also very much a celebration of Dubai that hosts more than 200 nationalities, in peace and harmony, displaying the warmth and hospitality of this cosmopolitan city. Indeed, the slogan for DSF ‘One World. One Family. One Festival’ embodies the values that are the main characteristics of Dubai. Since its inception in 1996, DSF has endeavoured to provide visitors from around the world an unparalleled experience and an unforgettable holiday in Dubai. It is not unusual for visitors to come back for another DSF edition the following year simply because the festival has carved for itself a reputation for setting the highest standards and constantly innovating on what it has to offer.

The Aim
Dubai Shopping Festival was initiated with two key objectives in mind: to promote Dubai as the ultimate global shopping and tourist destination by creating world class events and retail promotions, and to set the benchmark for events and festivals around the world.


The Concept
Dubai Shopping Festival is based primarily on the theme of 'One World. One Family. One Festival' that aims to treat families of diverse nationalities and family members of all ages with the best shopping and family entertainment experience in the region.

Shopping is an integral part of Dubai Shopping Festival and the retail sector in Dubai comes alive during a whole month of amazing promotions and incredible prizes. The Dubai Shopping Malls Group, the official body representing malls in Dubai, plays an important role in attracting shoppers by organizing entertainment events and promotions. The Dubai Gold and Jewellery Group, representing jewellery outlets in Dubai, offer the latest and the best in gold and jewellery to shoppers during DSF. In addition to the numerous malls that offer promotions, the streets of Dubai also host shopping bazaars that recreate the authentic shopping atmosphere of souqs. Dubai Shopping Festival offers the finest shopping experience in the region for the millions of visitors, tourists, and shoppers from around the world.

Winning is a vital characteristic of DSF and it is interlinked to shopping as every shopper is provided the chance to be rewarded with incredible prizes. Over the years, prizes in the form of cash, cars, and gold have been given away as shopping incentives and it has become the vibrant visible face of the shopping festival.

DSF 2009 starts January 15 and culminates on Feb. 15 DSF 2009 is expected to smash all previous records with consumer spending. The success of DSF can be gauged from the visitor and visitor spending figures over the past editions. In the inaugural edition of DSF in 1996, 1.6 million visitors spent about AED 2.15 billion in 43 days. By the year 2006-2007, which witnessed a combined 11th and 12th edition of DSF, the visitor number had touched 3.5 million and the spending figure had reached a massive AED 10.2 billion. The Year 2008 In its 13th edition, Dubai Shopping festival lasted for 32 days from 24th of January to 24th of February 2008. With a new and innovative marketing slogan, “The Fifth Season”, DSF 2008 was launched with an advanced strategy that was designed to elevate and enhance the annual event to keep up with the fast paced development of Dubai. In its main core, the new strategy emphasizes on shopping, hence DSF 2008 had plenty of promotions and shopping attractions to offer to its visitors from around the world. With more than 3500 retail shops and 40 state of the art shopping malls offering unbelievable discounts on international brands, DSF 2008 transformed Dubai into the shopping haven of the region

Source : DSF office