Dubai Shopping Festival gets permanent base

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The final masterplan of the $4bn Dubai Festival City development was endorsed this week by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Mak-toum, Crown Prince of Dubai and UAE Minister of Defence

The Global Village within the complex (pictured) will become a year-round entertainment destination with international pavilions, exhibits, a fun fair and food & beverage outlets in a landscaped park. There will be both an indoor and outdoor shopping facility, referred to as The Souk. The Dubai Shopping Festival's main attractions will become a permanent fixture at Dubai Festival City. International long-haul tourists make up 60% of the 2m visitors to the festival, now in its seventh year.

The first phase of the project is being built by a division of Al Futtaim Group, the leading local shopping mall developer which won the management of the Dubai Shopping Festival. The overall city-within-a-city area, stretching 3.5km along Dubai Creek will have 15 residential communities, each with their own facilities to be developed over a ten-year period. "Some features of the second phase, like the hotel, the golf course and entertainment facilities have been moved to phase one because of demand," said Al Futtaim Group ceo Omar Al Futtaim.

Meanwhile promotion of Dubai Shopping Festival 2003 to be held from January 15 to February 15 is well underway. This month the Shopping Festival organising committee began a series of roadshows in India, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Riyadh, Jeddah, Oman and Kenya in cooperation with the Dubai Tourism and Commerce Marketing. Festival posters and promotional material have gone up in Dubai International airport this month.