Dubai Shopping Festival

Dubai FestivalDubai Shopping Festival, known in Arabic as 'Layali Dubai', was first started in February 1996 by the Dubai government as purely a retail event aimed to promote trade in Dubai. Since then it has become an annual shopping, entertainment, and cultural extravaganza that continues to promote tourism in Dubai and draws people from around the world each year.

During Dubai Shopping Festival shops offer deep discounts on their merchandise, daily car raffles are drawn, and fireworks light Dubai’s night sky. Tourists from all around the world are lured not only for Dubai's tax free shopping, but also for all of the events that take place during the festival.

Dubai Shopping Festival is basically a shopping paradise. Dubai is know around the world as such a paradise throughout the year, but they really lay out the red carpet during shopping festival month, with over 2,300 retails outlets participating, that offer everything imaginable from gold, perfume, haute couture, cars, electronics to handicrafts and textiles.

Every year, Dubai Shopping Festival lives up to its promise of staging the most exciting activities for the whole family inspired by the theme One World, One Family, One Festival. As universal brotherhood, happiness, excitement, joy and adventure became the signature trademarks of Dubai Shopping Festival, the Festival itself became a tribute to the inherent ambition and strength of the people of the United Arab Emirates. Local and multinational brands acknowledged their faith in the event, and brands like Visa, Pepsi and Emirates Airlines became partners to DSF's growth.

Most hotels and appartments also get involved offering special offers during the period, even the world famous Burj Al Arab is included in the hotels. With all these special discounts available many would feel that would suffice, but Dubai goes quite a few steps further. They are scores of raffles that offer very attractive prices outlined below, and Emirates and most other airlines flying out of Dubai offer discounted airfares and much needed excess baggage allowances during the festival.

There are other events as well, including international fashion shows, children's events, streetside performances, nightly fireworks, film festivals, and many other cultural events that reflect the emirate's cosmopolitan character. Plus one of the biggest events of them all, the Dubai World Cup also takes place during the festival, and with a staggering US$ 12 million purse that makes it the richest horse race in the world - not something to miss.

Source: DubaiShoppingFestival.com

Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) 2007