Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS) and Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) are transforming Dubai into a world-class retail destination, with total consumer spending expected to hit US$7.6 billion by 2009.

Since their inception, the DSF and the DSS have transformed Dubai into the biggest entertainment and shopping hub of the region, achieving a quantum leap in areas of retail trade, said Noha Safar, Director of the Marketing & Communications Department at the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI).

"The Dubai government lays special focus on the retail trade sector, providing it with all necessary tools of success," she commented. The DSF and DSS are among the most effective means through which the government is developing the retail trade and this reflects positively on the national economy, she noted.
"The retail trade sector accounts for more than 50% of Dubai's total trade volume," she said. Total consumer spending in Dubai is expected to reach US$7.6 billion 2009, the largest retail spending in the GCC, according to the latest studies.

Since the launch of the DSS ten years ago, a large number of UAE nationals as well as residents have opted to spend their summer vacation in the UAE instead of travelling to Europe or the U.S. or going back home, in order to enjoy the exciting activities offered during the summer period.
"Tourists now view Dubai as their favourite vacation destination," Safar noted, citing the increasing tourist arrivals in Dubai as the best evidence of the fundamental change experienced by the Emirate which was suffering lean trade periods during the summer months before the launch of the DSS.

Commenting on how DSS has contributed to reviving the retail trade in Dubai, Safar said, "The effect has been huge so far, with these activities sprawling among more than 50 shopping centres around the Emirate. The miscellaneous entertainment shopping options offered through DSS have drawn in large numbers of tourists and residents, including children and adults alike."
"The current massive increase in tourist inflow proves in no uncertain way the positive change the Emirate retail and tourism industries have witnessed since the launch of DSS," she added.
Talking on the relationship between the DCCI and the two festivals, Safar stressed the fact that the DCCI has been actively involved in all initiatives to promote DSF and DSS since their inception. "The DCCI has always been bent on effectively contributing to the resounding successes achieved by the two mega-events. We are always participating in all initiatives aimed at highlighting the monumental progress achieved by Dubai on all fronts," she said.
Safar concluded by saying that upcoming major developments in Dubai would only enhance the city's reputation as a unique tourist and entertainment centre in the region as well as offering investors unique opportunities.