Dubai Shopping Festival 2010
Dubai Shopping Festival 2009
- What? The Dubai Shopping Festival 2008 (DSF 2008). An annual event, first one was in 1996. Retailers offer discounts, allegedly, on various goods, and there's a fireworks display every night over Dubai Creek. Many residents prefer to think of it as the Dubai Traffic Festival due to the gridlock on the roads
. - Where? Dubai shops, shopping centers, shopping malls, Global Village, Dubai Creek, Dubai roads.
- When? 24 January - 24 February 2008
- How much? Supposedly a minimum of 20% discount - retailers register with the DSF office to get discount tags for goods on sale.
- Organisers?
- Main Sponsors? Visa (every year since 1996). Visa card holders get entered into prize draws if they use their credit cards during DSF 2008.
- Contact? DSF help desk tel: +971-4-2235444
- Website? www.mydsf.ae. Note that www.dubaishoppingfestival.com (link comes back to this topic) is not the official website for the Dubai Shopping Festival.
Anything else?
Global Village - a bit like an international car boot sale, with fairground rides
Night Souk - every night on Al Seef Road
DSF 100,000 raffle - win 100k currency units of your choice (equivalent to just 40 dirhams if you get it wrong)
Other Dubai Shopping Festival information
The RTA has extended their Water Bus service (the amphibious bus, not the same as abras or water taxis) online B4 from Bani Yas Station on the Bur Dubai side of the creek to Al Seef station. Operates from 0600 to 2300, every 10 minutes, costs 4 dhs per trip. Extension applies from 24 Jan to 24 Feb 2008 during the Dubai Shopping Festival.
DSF Sponsorship Manager is Suhaila Gobash.
2008 DSF is the 13th Dubai shopping festival.
2007 DSF was a combined 11th and 12th DSF for an extended period. There were 3.5 million visitors to Dubai who spent a total of AED 10 billion (About $2.8 billion).
2006 DSF was cancelled after the death on 04 January 2006 of Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Ruler of Dubai.
In terms of bargains, many say the Dubai Shopping Festival is more hype than substance. This could be partly due to the large quantity of "sales" or "special offers" that many outlets in Dubai offer throughout the year anyway. Still, there are occasionally good deals to be found, and a few other events to keep the shoppers entertained, especially entertainment for children. The newspapers usually have a daily timetable of events.
The traffic jams in Dubai are bad enough but will be especially so during the Dubai Shopping Festival. Forget trying to find a taxi or get anywhere on time, particularly in the evenings and around Dubai Creek near the fireworks displays. Flights in and out of Dubai will be even more busy than usual, and the airport will be chaotic. If you live in Dubai but you're not a shopaholic, it's a good time to go somewhere else.
Expect shopping centers in Dubai to be absolutely jammed in the evenings. Multiply the Mall of the Emirates Thursday night population by 3 or 4. Mornings are a good time to go shopping if you want to avoid crowds.
Fireworks DSF 2008 (information from 14 January 2008 press release)
- What? Impressive display of fireworks in the evenings on weekends
- Where? Off a barge moored in the Dubai Creek in Al Seef area
- When? starting 8pm on Thu, Fri Sat nights during the Dubai Shopping Festival. Show lasts about 15 mins.
- How much? Free to watch. Cost of crackers unknown.
- Organisers? Al Zarooni Group
- Main Sponsors?
- Contact?
- Website?
Anything else? Fireworks will be lit off at the rate of 300 per minute (three times more than the normal 100 per minute). Should be visible from anywhere within a few km of the creek if you can get a bit of altitude and a clear line of sight - standing on a building roof for example. Opening night and closing night displays could be particularly impressive. Expect traffic in that area of Dubai Creek to be locked up even worse than usual on fireworks nights.
DSF registration for retailers (from 21 December 2007 press release)
Retailers who want to offer discounts or special offers have to register with the DSF registration desk on the ground floor of the Dubai Economic Department between 24 December 2007 and 31 January 2008. Registration hours 4pm to 8pm Sun to Thu, and 10am to 2pm on Sat (closed Fri).
There are 4 categories of participation.
DSF Sales - retailers have to offer at least 25% discount on all goods in their shop. A retailer can opt for a Part Sale but still needs to have more than half their stock on sale.
DSF Discounts - retailers can choose which merchandise is discounted but it must be at least 20%, the DSF Office will supply some discount tags for free.
DSF Offers - promotions like 'Free Gift', 'Best Buys', 'Buy One Get One Free', 'Added Value'. Up to 4 promotions are free of fees for the retailer, there's a fee of AED 250 for each additional offer.
DSF Raffles - only available to outlets owned by a key or support DSF sponsor
Retailers not participating in DSF 2008 will not be given permission for any promotions during the shopping festival (normally, sales promotions require permission from the Department of Economic Development).
DSF 2008 yoga camp
What? Eurostar yoga camp with Swami Ramdev
Where? Airport Expo Dubai
When? From 6 am to 8.30 am, from 25 - 27 January 2008