Location: Dubai

Dubai holds the most insane Shopping Festival the world has ever seen!

Every year, from January 28 to February 28, Dubai (where sales tax is non-existent) holds the most insane Shopping Festival the world has ever seen!

It’s amazing to learn and actually see how Dubai has grown from a tiny trading emirate to one of the most established commercial capitals in the world. Much credit for this is given to the efforts of its late ruler, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum. More recent developments and greater advances have been made by his son and present ruler, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum by his efforts to de-link Dubai’s economy from oil dependence by developing its trade, tourism and shipping infrastructure as well as its telecommunication and IT networks, media and healthcare.

Dubai is now known as one of the foremost business destinations in the world, not to mention a city that offers its residents a premium lifestyle.

All visitors to the UAE require a visa to enter the country, except citizens of the Gulf Cooperation Council member countries. Getting a flight to Dubai has never been easier now with a total of 122 airlines operating through Dubai such as Emirates and FlyDubai. It would be wise to take advantage of the great variety of Travel and Stay packages offered during the Shopping Festival period with over 40 participating hotels, airlines and accredited travel agencies.

Getting around Dubai is fast and easy with the Dubai Metro; a total of 10 stations with trains running every 10 minutes at strategic positions making mall-hopping a lot more convenient, not to mention, clean and safe. Rechargeable cards allow you to constantly take this awesome mode of transport as well as busses and taxis that have their own GPS to keep you from wasting your time in traffic, and give you official printed receipts that track your travel route and time. Amazing!

Aside from shopping, you may also want to explore the majestic Arabian Deserts complete with dune bashing, camel rides, sand skiing, traditional desert barbeques and belly dancers. Thrill-seeking tourists also have the option of taking fixed-wing aircrafts, helicopter rides and hot air balloon tours, to explore Dubai thru the skies.

Shopping in Dubai on a regular day is considerably more expensive than say shopping possibly anywhere else in Asia. With their premium lifestyle, local residents can very well afford this anyway. Ah but when the shopping festival is in order, items on sale drop down by as much as 80% off, bringing jeans from say Topshop priced at USD50 down to USD10! The discounts are offered by an infinite number of participating stores, establishments and over 25 malls literally taking shoppers at the brink of shopping ‘til they drop! Other offers like ‘buy one take ones’, added values and best buys are also offered by almost all retailers on just about anything under the sun, from gold and jewelry to electronics, fashion, luxury, beauty and wellness items.

Possibly a favorite of shoppers are the raffle promos, including scratch and win opportunities that offer shoppers a chance to not only get value back for their money spent, but also opportunities to win twice as much with their daily and weekly draws including Lexus and Nissan vehicles! A great example of this is the Dubai Duty Free Millionaire with prizes including luxury cars and motor bikes from BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, Rolls Royce and Ferrari.

Dining in Dubai has never been more enjoyable as well. Being a city frequented by tourists from all over the world, take your pick from world-class Emirati, Arabic, Chinese, Indian, Italian, Japanese, Thai or American cuisine. International fast food chains have also dotted the metro bringing your shopping overloaded feet and possibly home-sick tummy, some much needed comfort.

This year’s festival has just ended but it’s never too early to start booking and saving for next year’s, expected to be even bigger, better and grander than this one!