19th edition of Dubai Shopping Festival to kick off January 2

• International entertainment and shopping extravaganza to further enhance Dubai’s position as a family tourism destination

• Between 1996 -2012, DSF attracted around 47 million visitors that pumped AED 114 billion in Dubai’s Economy

The Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment  has announced that the 19th edition of the Dubai Shopping Festival will be held from January 2 to February 2, 2014.

Commenting on the dates for DSF 2014, Laila Suhail, CEO of Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE), said: “We are very pleased to announce the dates for the next edition of Dubai Shopping Festival, the region’s best entertainment and shopping extravaganza. By announcing the dates now four months before DSF 2014 commences we can provide everyone involved in organizing the event from retailers to hotel operators and travel agents here and overseas adequate time for planning, preparing and implementing an extensive line-up of high quality events and shopping promotions. Working together with our partners and sponsors DRFE can ensure that the DSF truly remains faithful to its promise of delivering an unforgettable experience to millions of visitors from around the world”.

The first 18 editions of DSF attracted an amazing 47 million visitors who injected AED 114 billion into Dubai’s economy., H.E. Laila Suhail believes that the scale of that success has been boosted by the fact that Dubai’s leadership had a pioneering vision when it comes to the festival industry and its long-term impact. She explained:, “The creation of a dedicated government entity to organize world class festivals is something that Dubai has uniquely pioneered since 1996, while other similar citywide festivals are mostly driven by the private sector, and this is one of the main reasons why DSF is one of the longest running and most popular and successful shopping festivals in the world.

“The 19th edition of Dubai Shopping Festival will also be a part of the significant measures being undertaken by DFRE and DTCM as a body to contribute towards Dubai’s tourism strategy of increasing tourism arrivals to the emirate to 20 milllion a year by 2020 as an integral part of the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

“Our own teams have already begun work on DSF 2014 with the aim of bringing out yet another successful edition that will further boost Dubai’s image as an international events hub of global excellence and reinforce the trust shown by the International Festivals and Events Association that honoured Dubai with the ‘World Festival and Event City’ award for two successive years in 2011 and 2012”.

Since it was launched in 1996 on the directives of His Highness, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai, DSF has grown from a mere shopping event to an international entertainment and shopping extravaganza that continues to draw millions of visitors to Dubai every year.

In its inaugural year, DSF attracted 1.6 million visitors, who contributed towards a total spend of AED 2.15 billion while in 2012, the 18th edition of the festival drew 4.3 million visitors with the total annual spend at the festival having now grown to AED 14.7 billion.