Dubai Shopping Festival begins today

Dubai, Jan 28, 2010 (WAM)- The eagerly anticipated annual Dubai Shopping Festival starts today to a dazzling note with fireworks that will light up the evening sky according to a report in "Khaleej Times." The region’s largest and longest running shopping and entertainment extravaganza will bring the world to Dubai. Thousands of tourists are expected to arrive over the next 32 days and Dubai’s retail sector will get a much needed fillip, while residents can look forward to festive evenings with an array of family events. Launched in 1996, DSF has had around 35 million visitors since 1996, who have spent close to Dh74 billion in shopping malls, airlines, hotels and entertainment outlets. In 2009 alone, visitors reached the 3.35 million mark. They spent Dh9.8 billion in 32 days of the festival. – Khaleej Times