Dubai Shopping Festival targets China and India

The 20th edition of the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) is now less than one month away, with the emirate’s tourism authorities targeting the key markets of China, Russia and India in the initial promotional stages.

As announced earlier this year, the 2015 festival will take place between January 1 and February 1, organised by Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE), an agency of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM).

DFRE recently launched an international marketing campaign to promote the event under the marketing slogan ‘20th Anniversary – A Journey of Celebrations’.

Later stages in the campaign will target countries in the Middle East and North Africa, in addition to promoting DSF to the local audiences in the UAE and neighbouring countries at a later stage.

DFRE chief executive Laila Mohammed Suhail said: "The campaign aims to showcase the fact that DSF has grown from being just a festival where one merely visits to make purchases or pick up bargains to a destination where people can actually be thoroughly immersed in, as they shop and make their personal choices whether it is shopping for electronics or food or even for entertainment or hotel accommodation.

“The slogan pays tribute to DSF shoppers as they embark on a journey of personal transformations, starting from what they want to experience to what they want to be.”

Designed to promote Dubai as a destination for family tourism, the festival was founded in 1996, based on the directive of His Highness, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai and Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE.

Since then, it has attracted 56 million visitors, who have spent a total of AED 145 billion (US $39.5 billion).

For the third time, this year’s festival was crowned as the ‘World Festival and Event City’ by the International Festival and Events Association.

The Dubai Shopping Festival is based on the three pillars of shopping, entertainment and winnings and receives support from both the public and private sectors.

It features the participation of over 70 malls and 6,000 retail outlets, with discounts of up to 75% on items from gold, perfume, haute couture fashion brands and cars, to electronics, handicrafts and textiles.