Dubai can be called the Mecca of shoppers worldwide. It has managed to be one of the favorite shopping hot spots for tourists since several years. Thousands of shopaholics throng the city during the huge Dubai Shopping Festival or “Layali Dubai” as it is known in Arabic every year. What began as an attempt to promote Dubai trade in 1996 has grown to be an annual shopping, entertainment and cultural show for people around the globe. You will find great discounts on a wide range of everyday use items in this festival. There is a myriad range of products from jewelry to fashionable clothing, electrical goods and lovely carpets.
It is surprising to know that in spite of recession, there were 3.2 million visitors who spent a total of around Dh 10 billion in the Shopping Festival held in 2009 from 15 January to 15 February. It is not that Dubai has visitors only during this festival as it is famous as a shopping paradise in the whole world. The difference during the Dubai Shopping Festival is that shoppers can have the experience of shopping from more than 2,300 retail outlets that market all the things you could imagine. These outlets offer gold, perfume, haute couture, cars, electronic items, handicrafts and textiles too.
Besides this yearly lavish affair, you have a choice of shopping from any of the 40 shopping malls. Dubai boasts of housing the Mall of the Emirates that is said to be the largest outside North America. Other than that, tourists can feast their eyes by having a look at the numerous gold souks that display a variety of jewelry items. Dubai is rightly called the ‘City of Gold’ just because of this. Then there are the traditional Arabic souks or markets that have the best textiles, fragrant spices, Arabic pottery and wooden furniture.
An additional benefit of visiting Dubai during the Shopping Festival is that important shopping malls host low price and promotional offers for the tourists. The Wafi Mall, Mall of the Emirates, Deira City Center, Bur Jurman, IBN Battuta Mall and the recently opened Dubai Mall that is located close to the world’s tallest tower, the Burj Dubai are some prominent malls in Dubai. Don’t forget to visit the Carpet Oasis that showcases beautiful carpets from every nation under one roof. Nobody leaves empty handed when he leaves Dubai for sure- there is something for everybody!