Dubai Shopping Festival promises buyer’s dream in its 25th anniversary

The Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) has promised a shopper’s dream for Kenyans and East Africans in this year’s edition as it celebrates its silver jubilee that began on Thursday, December 26 and will run until Saturday, February 1.

Dubai Shopping Festival is an annual month long event put together by the Dubai Festivals & Retail Establishment, which is a part of Dubai’s department of tourism.

Over the years, this annual event has become bigger and bigger as an increasing number of shops and malls participate.

Speaking in Nairobi while presenting data on Dubai Shopping Festival and the role that East Africa, has played in making the festival successful, Salim Dahman Al Amoudi, Senior Manager, International Campaign Replace said that this year’s edition will include new activities with discounts of up to 75 per cent for shoppers in hundreds of stores across the city, on everything from fashion to jewellery and electronics.

“Dubai Shopping Festival is by standards the longest running festival of its kind, and it has put Dubai on the world shopping map and continues to attract visitors and big spenders from all four corners of the globe. This year’s edition which will be totally different from the previous editions with dozens of shopping bargains for visitors,” he said while addressing Kenyan Travel journalists.

The latest edition of DSF will also celebrate the accomplishments of the city to date, with the annual calendar further packed with an array of activations, festivals and events throughout the year.

The year 2020 is set to be a landmark year for Dubai, with the emirate also readying to host the highly anticipated Expo 2020 from October.

“DSF will feature up to 18 festivals, events, season launches, holiday periods and sales throughout the year. The programme offers retailers the opportunity to run customer-centric promotions and activations, which in turn drive footfall and increase sales,” commented Janelle Lewis- Senior Manager, International Communications for Dubai Tourism.

The Retail Calendar 2020 will also seek to reaffirm Dubai’s credentials as a must-visit shopping destination, enabling continued growth of the retail sector, which is expected to reach an estimated Dh160.7 billion by 2021 compared to Dh2.14 billion 1996 inaugural DSF which is estimated to have attracted a whopping 1.6 ­million shoppers.