A handy guide for DSF revellers

Loaded with information on the what, when and where of the Dubai Shopping Festival 2006, the DSF Official Guide promises to be your ultimate guide to the mother of all shopping festivals.

As always, for the DSF visitor, Dubai's shopping malls with their innovative brand promotions and discount schemes will be a major draw. The DSF Official Guide will introduce visitors to the major participating malls in DSF 2006 and their promotions and events. The Guide shall also shed light on the varied other highlights of DSF like the Night Souq, Carpet Oasis, Islands and Bazaars of the World and the Global Village with 38 international pavilions.

DSF 2006 offers over Dh100 million in prizes to the visitor, and the DSF Official Guide will offer insights into promotions like the Lexus Mega Raffle, the Nissan Grand Raffle, the Gold Raffle and the Visit & Win Promotion, with exact details of the participating outlets and terms under which the raffle coupons will be issued.

Over the past 11 years, the Dubai Shopping Festival has gone far beyond merely being a shopping festival, and the entertainment options that open up to the visitor are testimony to this. From cultural happenings to musical concerts to exhibitions of the world's best painters, the DSF Official Guide 2006 contains details of all the activities throughout the month-long duration of the festival, with locations, dates and timings mentioned.

The Dubai Shopping Festival sponsors have played a key role in the event's continued success, and the DSF Official Guide will have in-depth details of the Patrons, Key Sponsors and Support Sponsors of the festival, their participation in previous events and the unique promotions and activities they have lined up for DSF 2006.

Every year, the DSF recognises the efforts of members of the media, local and international, who help propagate the message of the Festival that exceeds expectations. This year too, the DSF has formulated The Ideal Mother & Family Award, Journalism Award, Innovation award and the DSF2006 Photography Awards for the general public, that will be bestowed upon the best talents in varied areas of the media. Details of these, and how some interesting details of past winners and winning entries will be highlighted in the DSF Official Guide.

The city of Dubai is one that time and again, much in line with the DSF, seeks to exceed expectations, by its futuristic, breathtaking projects and amazingly fast progress, and this facet of the emirate is highlighted in the Guide, along with the varied amazing records the city has established.

The Guide contains numbers that a visitor may need such as the shopping malls numbers, the main banks, exchange centers, taxi companies, car hire, transportation, public parks etc. It also contains numbers of the Ahlan Dubai call center, which is a major part of the festival, putting in huge efforts to bring out the Festival and offering all information and details to the visitors and residents of Dubai city.

Over 450,000 copies of the DSF Official Guide, which is available in four languages - Arabic, English, Russian and Malayalam, shall be distributed for free at the Dubai International Airport, main streets, the Hospitality Tents and the DSF Night Souq besides the DSF office. The Guide is also available on the DSF official website www.mydsf.ae .

The Dubai Shopping Festival 2006 runs between January 4 and February 4, 2006.