Dubai Shopping Festival tempts Pakistanis

KARACHI: With the theme “One World. One Family. One Festival”, one-month Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) 2011 begins from the January 20, scheduled to close on February 20. The announcement came at an exclusive press briefing, held at Sheraton Hotel on Saturday, hosted by the festival sponsor Emirates Airlines.

The festival was launched in 1996, since then it has gathered 40 million visitors who have spent close to AED 84 billion.

Speaking at the press conference, Ashfaq Shah, Senior Corporate Executive Emirates Airlines said, “Emirates Airlines has been an instrumental sponsor of the festival that started in 1996. The festival, the first of its kind, in the region has now become a global attraction. [It] has a universal appeal and attracts visitors from across the world.”

Badr Abbas, vice president of Emirates Airlines for Pakistan and Afghanistan, said, “Dubai Shopping Festival is a great platform to consolidate ties between the two countries. With as many as 39 Emirates flights a week from Pakistan, thousands of the people will be able to enjoy it.”

Abbas said that the key features of the event will be accommodation prices beginning $55 per person, per night based on double occupancy.

The sponsor company has arranged bonus offering on extended stay, such as eight nights for the price of six, 12 for the price of nine and 16 for the price of 12 nights.

Abbas stressed that last year’s global recession did not have any effect on the festival, with people from Pakistan keen to participate in the grand event.

Key features of the DSF

Longest running shopping festival in the world.

Mentioned in Guinness Book of World Records for breaking 40 world records.

Upto 75 per cent discount offers this year.

6,000 retail outlets will exhibit their offerings during DSF 2011.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 9^th, 2011.