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It's that time of year again folks — get your credit cards ready and brace yourself for bargains galore as the Dubai Shopping Festival comes to town.
Now in its 13th year, the festival, more commonly known as DSF, is expected to welcome more than 4 million people to Dubai along with a massive combined spending figure of more than Dh12 billion.
With price cuts all over the city from the top designer stores to supermarket shelves, DSF appears to have become a month on almost everyone's calendar.
But what do the people of Dubai really think about DSF? tabloid! Hit the streets to find out.
Raj Nair, 38, has lived in Dubai for more than seven years and says he looks forward to the shopping festival each year.
He said: "I believe the shopping festival is a major event on the city calendar and think most people know about it. I have seen it grow from year to year and each year I believe the deals get better and better.
"Some aspects need improving but generally I believe the organisers do a good job. I'm glad the bad weather hasn't postponed this year's event as I think people are really quite excited about it."
Good bargains
Rinu Baby, 25, originally from India, said he felt the festival was getting a bit tired and could do with some fresh ideas.
He said: "The sales are great but I think the entertainment could do with being more professional. That would help get people into the malls where all the sales are. I think it's a shame there is often a lack of children at the events which are scheduled with them in mind."
Amal Al Ghrir, 27, and her husband Ahmad, 28, are both Dubai government employees and have lived in Dubai all their lives.
Amal said: "We all know the shopping festival is very good for the economy and I believe this is the main reason we should support it. We all live here and should support what the country provides for us. The shopping sales are always good but I do believe the entertainment and activities could do with being slightly better organised."
Ahmad added: "We have seen the festival grow every year and I think it gets bigger and better with age. It is a good time of year for anyone who is hitting the shops."
Phong Nguyen, 41, his wife Anh, 39, and their 11-month son Sam were already out and about looking at what they planned to buy during the sales.
Phong said: "We don't really take part in many of the activities during DSF, but we will no doubt be buying a few bargains during the month. It is a good time of year if you know you are going to be buying larger items in the near future. I don't believe it is advertised that well and you have to work hard to know what is going on."
Out and about
Sabeetha Shyan, 44, a Dubai resident, was shopping with her daughters Asha Manoj, 38, and Priyanka Shyan, 18, who are visiting from India.
Priyanka said: "We live in India and even we know about the Dubai Shopping Festival. It is great for bargains and we are just sad we will miss it this year."
Sabeetha said: "I think the shopping festival is a great initiative and it gets everyone out and about and enjoying the cooler weather. We will be buying lots I'm pretty sure."
Erna Meikle believes people who don't know about DSF must be walking around with their eyes closed.
"It's all around you for a whole month every year. Over the years it has become much bigger and now many more of the shops participate. You can get some great bargains and it's wonderful for a bit of retail therapy. The newspaper keeps you up-to-date with what's going on and where to get the best buys which is handy and the rest is a bit of an adventure! It's great fun and well advertised if you keep your eyes open."
Great acts
Nice Blances, 25 and Jen Langoido, 30, have lived in Dubai for about three years.
Originally from the Philippines they say the entertainment could do with some improvements which they believe would bring more people to the malls.
Nice said: "The shopping is very nice, but the shows and activities could do with some changes to keep people interested. Lots of people think the festival is only about shopping, but it's more than that. I think it's a shame not everyone understands the effort that goes into the organisation and the great acts which are brought to Dubai to entertain the crowds."
Cathie Anderson, 43, has lived in Dubai for more than four years. She says she would love to take her children to some of the DSF activities, but feels they are very poorly advertised.
She said: "Many of the activities and entertainment sessions are never seen by people in Dubai because they are not advertised well at all. Last year, I took my children to a few things which I heard about, luckily through other parents."
Parminder Bhamra, and his wife Athene, both 37, said that although the festival on the whole had grown, each felt the entertainment had gone slowly downhill.
Residents in Dubai for more than 10 years, Paminder said: "The entertainment and unique parts of DSF have stayed the same or gotten worse. The Global Village is the same each year and when you have visited it once there isn't an awful lot to go back for. I think they need some fresh ideas and a few changes to keep people interested."
Readers' responses
We asked readers to tell us about their DSF experiences on www.gulfnews.com. Here are some responses:
"DSF is one of the most fantastic carnivals I have seen in the UAE ... It will be tough for me to attend all the shows due to work and I will be sad to miss them."
— Emran Khan, UAE
"DSF is full of fun events."
— George, UAE
"This is first DSF I will be attending and I am planning to shop a lot! I also plan to attend the major festival-related events. I hope the festival will be a nice experience."
— Majid, UAE
"To me DSF means crowded malls, crowded malls and crowded malls."
— Denny, UAE
"I can't wait for the shopping festival each year. I have to say, I stop spending at the beginning of January so I can go all out during the festival itself. I'm mostly interested in electronics."
— Ben Cole, UAE
"I can't believe they've managed to get Santana to play during DSF. Excellent work. This, coupled with the bargains on offer, will make it worthwhile."
— Nivi Da Souza, UAE
"In my opinion people are less inclined to visit the Global Village or see what DSF offers are, because the festival is the same each year."
— Farhan Hadi, UAE
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