Dubai set to bag more shoppers

Dubai shopping festival organisers say they expect an increase in visitor numbers this year, with more tourists coming from China and Egypt.

"We see potential from China as a new market and on our [promotional] roadshow this year, we added Egypt," said Ibrahim Saleh, the deputy chief executive of Dubai Events and Promotions Establishment, which organises the festival. This year ,the retail bonanza begins on January 20.

"Our research is telling us that the number of visitors coming from Egypt is increasing every year. Between 2009 and 2010, we had around a 26 per cent increase in the number of visitors from Egypt." .

The annual 32-day festival, which features entertainment and discounts at hotels and shops across the city, is a major driver for retail sales and tourism in the emirate.

While official sales and visitor figures for last year's festival have not been released, the 2009 event was attended by about 3.35 million people who spent Dh9.8 billion (US$2.66bn).

Retailers estimated sales during last year's festival were up by as much as 40 per cent compared to the previous year and hoteliers reported higher occupancies.

Mr Saleh said he expected turnout for this year's festival to be higher than last year, on the back of the global economic recovery.

"We expect that the number of visitors will increase, definitely … and any increases in the expenditure will be a good indication that the recession is over."

He said he was expecting more tourists from China in particular, on the back of its economic boom and the growing numbers of Chinese travelling abroad.

Some 47.5 million Chinese tourists went abroad in 2009, an increase of 3.6 per cent on the previous year.

The UN World Travel Organisation predicts there will be 100 million outbound travellers from China by 2020. GDP per capita, meanwhile, is forecast to more than double between last year and 2015, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit.

Since the UAE gained "approved destination" status from the Chinese government in September, a designation that facilitates group leisure travel, an increasing number of Chinese have been visiting the Emirates.

The Dubai shopping festival this year coincides with Chinese New Year on February 3, a holiday period when many Chinese travel abroad.

Hunter Tourism, one of China's largest travel agencies, said tour bookings to Dubai for the last Chinese New Year rose 50 per cent and by 30 per cent for those travelling to Abu Dhabi, while the Emirates Palace reported a 600 per cent increase in guests during the holiday period compared with the monthly average.

More than 50 malls and 6,000 retailers are participating in the Dubai Shopping Festival this year, where retailers that are members of the Dubai Gold and Jewellery Group will be giving away a total of 21kg of gold.

Gold retailers opted out of the Dubai Shopping Festival for the past two years but have returned because the economic outlook has brightened, said Anan Fakhreddin, the chairman of the group and the chief executive of the jewellery retailer Damas.

"This is a clear indication that the business for the jewellery trade is coming back," he said. "We have marketing budgets now, unlike the last two years. And people are willing to spend because we see the light at the end of the tunnel."

Mr Fakhreddin said he expected jewellery sales to rise by 50 per cent during the festival, compared with an average month.

aligaya@thenational.ae

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