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Dubai Shopping Festival  

Tuesday 16 March 2010 (UAE)   
 
   
      
 

Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF)

The Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) is an annual one month long event held at the start of the year that puts Dubai on the map more for the marketing of DSF than the actual shopping bargains found. There are some good deals if you look carefully, and there are also various associated events and concerts that can be entertaining, including fireworks displays which are actually quite spectacular. A fine example of Dubai showing off to excess.

  • The Global Village was originally part of the Dubai Shopping Festival but is now something of an event in its own right, being open for several months in contrast to the one month long DSF.
  • Residents of Dubai sometimes refer not so affectionately to the Dubai Shopping Festival as the Dubai Traffic Festival, due to Dubai looking more like a very large carpark for the duration of the DSF. From 3am to 5am in the morning are good times to be driving if you want to avoid traffic jams.
  • Chairman of the DSF Office (DSFO) Supreme Committee is Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum.
Dubai Shopping Festival 2010 (DSF 2010)
  • DSF 2010 dates Thursday 28 January to Saturday 28 February 2010
  • A Dubai Tourist Visa (30 days, not renewable) is available for free to those travelling with Emirates Airlines if a Visa credit card is used to pay for their flights. The catches are that visitors have to be sponsored by a family member (which doesn't seem to make sense since Dubai visit visas, not tourist visas are usually sponsored by family members), the tickets have to be bought in the UAE, and purchase period dates are 19 January to 01 February 2010. Press release 18 January 2010 said "People looking to travel to Dubai to experience the excitement of the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) and spend time with their families will benefit from a free one month tourist visa, when travelling on Emirates and paying with their Visa credit, debit or prepaid card in the UAE."
Dubai Shopping Festival 2009 (DSF 2009)
  • DSF 2009 dates 15 January to 15 February 2009
  • DSF 2009 launch ceremony and party cancelled to show solidarity with the Palestinian suffering in Gaza (31 December 2008 New Year's Eve public celebrations and parties were also cancelled for the same reason). Other DSF activities continued as scheduled.
Dubai Shopping Festival 2008 (DSF 2008)
  • 13th annual DSF, held from 24 January to 24 February 2008.
  • Chairman of the DSF Supreme Committee is Shaikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum. Also President of the Department of Civil Aviation, Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group.
Dubai Shopping Festival 2007 (DSF 2007, or DSF 2006-2007 since DSF 2006 was cancelled)
  • 45-day event, 3.5 million visitors - a 7% increase on DSF 2005
  • 10.2 billion dhs spent, an increase of 53% on DSF 2005
Dubai Shopping Festival 2006 (DSF 2006)
  • Cancelled after Sheikh Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai, passed away on 04 January 2006 (not 2005 as seen in some sources).
Dubai Shopping Festival 2005 (DSF 2005)
Dubai Shopping Festival 1996 (DSF 1996)
  • The first Dubai Shopping Festival started in 1996 with dates from 15 February 1996 to mid-March 1996.
Last update Thursday 25-Feb-2010. Page development 3D 4L 5C.
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