2005 was the peak year of the Dubai Shopping Festival, gathering over 1 billion pounds from over 3 million visitors. This was much more than the figures from 2004, and sales in 2006 are said to exceed the 2005 peak. This is a thing that has been confirmed by the tour operators and hoteliers in Dubai.

The Dubai Shopping Festival stands for all the very best in shopping, entertainment and excitement, and this is for the whole family to enjoy, as it is an internationally inspired event. No wonder the motto of the festival is ?one world, one family, one festival`.

Apart from numerous discounts and bargains in every single store of each of Dubai's famous shopping malls, the Dubai Shopping Festival has other exciting things to offer to its visitors. Starting with amazing daily competitions and firework displays and ending with many excellent sales, the event gathers a bit form every possible delight of Dubai life. At these competitions one can win large cash prizes or a brand new car every day, so no wonder they are so popular!

The Night Souq experience is very popular among visitors, as they can browse and buy at a leisurely pace beneath the stars until 2 or 3 in the morning and gather the flavours of the Middle East at any one of a number of food stalls and cafes nearby.

During the one month long Dubai Shopping Festival, visitors can experience many entertainment events and attractions, such as fashion shows, the Dubai jazz festival, nightly firework displays, kids shows and carnivals. Not to speak about taking a safari into the desert, play a round of golf or go sailing. One can also visit any one of Dubai's many historic buildings, sites of interest, museums or galleries, in order to enjoy Dubai's culture and heritage and to escape the shopping malls.

The summertime sister to the Shopping Festival is the Dubai Summer Surprises, which starts at the beginning of every year and lasts for 2 months and a half. The focus of this Shopping Festival Dubai follow up is the malls around Dubai with daily events organised for all the family.

If you plan to visit Dubai and of course not miss either the Shopping Festival or the Summer Surprises, it is wise to search the daily scheduled events online.

After all this glamour and excitement comes the single "bad" thing about these festivals: everyone who visits it once will always want to go back again and again. It is somehow like an addiction.