After witnessing two decades of success, it’s the 21st year of the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF), the 32-day shopping, entertainment and winning extravaganza taking place from January 1 to 1 February.
Running under the tagline ‘Unwrap The Exceptional’ DSF 2016 – organised by the Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE), an agency of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) – will offer visitors the opportunity to rediscover their sense of wonder, happiness and excitement from a line-up of over 150 events and activities, including the exciting raffle draws and fireworks, over the 32-day celebration, remaining true to its slogan “One World. One Family. One Festival.”
“DSF 2016 will refresh the experience for visitors by showcasing it as an extraordinary shopping journey rather than a mere sales season. Hence, our line-up of events, activities and promotions are built around the festival’s 2016 tagline “Unwrap The Exceptional”, which defines everything at the festival as a gift that is waiting to be uncovered and cherished. The tagline also reaffirms the fact that Dubai is at its best at this time of the year with an inspirational celebration that rewards by delivering exceptional experiences,” avers DFRE CEO HE Laila Mohammad Suhail.
“DSF is a highlight in the emirate’s year-round calendar of diverse and attractive events and a key driver of tourism growth. Returning for its 21st year in 2016, the festival is intrinsic to attracting tourists from close-proximity markets including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, other GCC neighbours and India in addition to visitors from further afield, especially those from China, Africa and Russia. Driving high tourism numbers at the start of the year, DSF also profiles the emirate’s year-round retail and entertainment offering – one of the core pillars of Dubai’s overall tourism offer – and is a significant contributor to the economy of Dubai,” adds HE Helal Almarri, director general, DTCM.
DSF continues to enjoy industry support
There’s a big reason why retail is such a huge success in Dubai. It’s the strong partnership between the public and the private – comprising shopping malls and the retail community – sector that acts as a driving force for success of retail in the emirate. DSF is one such platform where public and private sector collaborate to launch various attractive promotions and exciting activities, offering a rewarding and exciting experience for residents and tourists every year since the last two decades.
This year DSF has been further strengthened by the participation of Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, one of DFRE’s newest strategic partners. Among the other long-term strategic partners are Emirates, AW Rostamani Group, Al-Futtaim Group, The Dubai Mall, Majid Al Futtaim Properties, Mercato Mall, Paris Gallery, ENOC, Ibn Battuta Mall, Dubai Duty Free, Meraas Holding and Etisalat. And the key sponsors of DSF 2016 include Visa, Jumbo and Global Village.
“It is unheard of for a festival to have partners supporting it for 20 long years, but this is what DSF has proudly achieved over the past two decades, as evident in our longstanding collaboration with our strategic partners and key sponsors,” says Suhail.
“Since it was launched in 1996, DSF has grown to become a global attraction, offering a unique blend of shopping, entertainment and winning opportunities that have been made possible due to the whole-hearted support offered by our partners. This collaboration with the government and private sectors has played a major role in the success of DSF over the last two decades, notably the positive impact it has made on different economic sectors in Dubai year after year. For this, we are truly grateful to our partners for their support that will ensure that DSF 2016 will be able to deliver on its promise of offering exceptional experiences to visitors from around the world,” she concludes.