There has been an increase of 36% in the number of travellers from Qatar to Dubai this year and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) officials want the trend to continue when they host city’s hallmark annual shopping festival next month.
Officials from the Dubai Events and Promotions Establishment (DEPE), an agency that works under the UAE’s Department of Economic Development (DED), said in Doha on Sunday they hoped to see more Qataris visiting the shopping bonanza.
The DEPE, a force behind the world’s ‘most elegant shopping festival’, announced that the 18th edition of the mega event will start from January 3 and would continue for a month.
This year’s theme for the event is ‘Dubai at its best’ and it would offer a bit of extra to visitors this time, said  Ibrahim Saleh, Festivals co-ordinator general at the DEPE.
He said the visitors from the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries make the bulk of shoppers  at the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) and the region remained a core market for the organisers.  
“The GCC has been and remains a core market for DSF not only due to geographical proximity but also for the fact that we share the same values and cultural backgrounds,”  he added.
“The festival’s marketing slogan ‘Dubai at its Best’ signifies the best of everything that the vibrant emirate stands for, especially during the DSF, when it offers unparalleled and unforgettable experiences to visitors and residents alike.”
Meanwhile, figures released for DSF 2011 show 3.98 million people visited Dubai during the month-long event, spending a total of Dh15.1 billion in 32 days.
The UAE had witnessed great development in the past few years, Saleh added, which Dubai and the DEPE are keen to keep up with by offering the highest international standards at events hosted by the city.