The 19th Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) will take place on Jan. 2 next year, kicking off Dubai's events calendar for 2014. The biggest shopping extravaganza in the Middle East helped to attract 4.66 million visitors during the same period last year, mainly from Russia, Saudi Arabia, India and the United Kingdom. The increased flow of tourism has a knock-on effect for Dubai's hospitality sector, with hotels reporting a rise of 4.7 percent last year with occupancy rates hitting 90 percent. The Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE), part of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, run the month-long shopping extravaganza. Laila Suhail, chief executive of 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.” — SG
