Venue
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
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Dubai Shopping Festival guide
Dubai's long winter sale and fireworks.
In short
The Dubai Shopping Festival usually runs from early December to mid-January, with dates published on Visit Dubai. Malls and souks offer discounts and daily prize draws, while waterfronts host free fireworks and concerts. It suits shoppers and families on a winter break; since nothing happens in one place, plan evenings around the outdoor programme.
The Dubai Shopping Festival, DSF to most residents, is the city's long winter sale: weeks of discounts in malls and souks, daily prize draws for shoppers, and free fireworks and concerts in the evenings. It began as a way to fill hotels in the cool season and has become a fixture of the Gulf calendar.
Nothing happens in one place. The big malls act as hubs, while waterfronts and markets around the city carry the outdoor programme, so a visit is less a single event than a reason to plan evenings across Dubai.
Price cuts vary widely between stores, and the real draw for many visitors is the free entertainment.
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Key Facts & Stats:
Ends: Sunday, 17 January 2027
Where: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Venue: Citywide
Held: Every year
Type of event: Live Events, Leisure Events, Fair
Nearest airport: Dubai (DXB) · 3 flight routes
Currency: UAE dirham (AED)
Time zone: UTC+4, no daylight saving
Language: Arabic; English widely spoken
Map
Close to the venue
- Burj Khalifa Attraction · 910 m
- Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo Attraction · 1.1 km
- The Dubai Mall Attraction · 1.1 km
- Dubai Fountain Attraction · 1.1 km
- Rove Downtown Hotel · 2.2 km
Getting around
Hotels near the venue fill up around the event dates.
Receipts, raffle entries and VAT refunds
Keep every receipt. Raffle entries are tied to purchases, and last season a spend of Dh200 or more qualified for the daily draw. Each store sets its own rules, so ask about the minimum spend before you pay.
Tourists can reclaim VAT on eligible goods when they leave. Ask for the tax-free form at the till, not afterwards, and keep the goods with you for the airport check.
Discounts are not uniform. A headline percentage in one shop can be matched or beaten by a regular promotion elsewhere, so compare prices on anything expensive, electronics and gold above all.
Dress and behaviour in malls and older districts
Malls are family spaces. Dress sensibly, particularly in Deira, Bur Dubai and Karama in the evening and at weekends, when the older districts are at their busiest. Kissing and cuddling in public draw disapproval.
Drinking alcohol in public is illegal, and the legal drinking age is 21. Rude gestures and swearing can bring fines if someone reports them, which matters more than you might think in a crowded car park.
Avoiding crowded car parks on weekend evenings
Mall car parks fill on weekend evenings, so take the Metro or a taxi on Saturday and Sunday nights. On the Red Line, avoid the commuter peaks between 7am and 9am and between 5pm and 7pm.
- Arrive at the nightly fireworks half an hour early for a clear view of the creek.
- Go to the malls on weekday mornings for the sales, and save the weekend for outdoor events.
- Carry a charged phone: flash sales and draw results are announced through the festival's channels.
What happens on the day
- From opening time
Mall sales
Discounts run from the moment the malls open, and flash sales are announced as the weeks go on, so the best price on an item can come at short notice.
- 18:00 to 23:00
The Dubai Fountain
In Downtown the fountain keeps up its usual programme, with a show every 30 minutes through the evening.
Booking a winter trip during the busy holiday season
DSF now spans Dubai's busiest weeks of the year. Christmas, New Year and the mild winter weather all fall inside it, which means hotels fill early and flights cost more. Two to three months ahead is a sensible booking window. If you want to be in the city for New Year's Eve, start sooner.
Where you sleep shapes the trip. Deira has the cheapest rooms in the city, close to the old souks. Jumeirah and Jebel Ali hold the beach hotels, which suit a mixed holiday where shopping fills the evenings. The most convenient address for the festival itself is Dubai Festival City, where the InterContinental and Crowne Plaza share a development with Festival City Mall and its creekside event space, Festival Bay.
Shape the days loosely. Outdoor events and fireworks belong to the evening, and a day out to Hatta or the beach breaks up a long run of shopping. Our UAE travel page covers the other emirates if you plan to see more of the country between sales.
How the festival began in 1996
The first festival opened on 16 February 1996. The idea is credited to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and its purpose was plain: give winter visitors a reason to fly in and fill the hotels. More than 1.5 million people came that first year. Its motto is One World, One Family, One Festival.
The 2006 festival was postponed and then cancelled after the death of Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum. By the 2018-2019 season some 3,000 stores and over 700 brands were joining in. Today it is run by Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment, which sits within the city's Department of Economy and Tourism.
The shopping is the core, with price cuts on fashion, electronics, homeware and gold. Last season the draws even included weekly gold prizes. Yet the festival is also a winter social calendar, with concerts, markets and food pop-ups filling the gaps between sales. Moving it to December and January put it squarely in the European and Asian holiday season.
Getting there
Flying in
Dubai International (DXB) is the main airport; Dubai World Central and Sharjah International take some low-cost flights. From Bangladesh see Dhaka to Dubai flights, and from Thailand Bangkok to Dubai or Phuket to Dubai. Check entry rules on our UAE visa page.
Metro from the airport
Terminals 1 and 3 have their own Red Line station, and the ride into the city takes 15 to 20 minutes. A Silver nol card costs 25 dirham with 19 dirham of credit loaded; a one-day pass on a Red Ticket is 22 dirham.
Between the malls
The Red Line stops at Burj Khalifa for Dubai Mall and at Mall of the Emirates, with trains every three to five minutes from 05:50 until midnight. Taxi meters run at 2.19 dirham a kilometre with a 12 dirham minimum.
To Hatta
Hatta is about 105 km away in the mountains. The RTA Hatta Express, route H02, leaves from Dubai Mall and costs 25 dirham on a nol card for a trip of about 1.5 hours; a taxi costs roughly 200 to 300 dirham each way.
Where to stay during the festival
The hotels below are in Dubai itself, the nearest ones we list to Dubai Shopping Festival. The next edition runs from 4 December to 17 January 2027. Book as soon as your dates are fixed, since rooms close to the festival are the first to go.
Dubai
Jumeirah Burj Al Arab5-star hotel
No reviews yet
from$1,600.00/ night
- Free WiFi
- Airport shuttle
- Swimming pool
7 Rooms available
Book Now
Dubai
Rove Downtown3-star hotel
No reviews yet
from$81.00/ night
- Free WiFi
- Airport shuttle
- Swimming pool
3 Rooms available
Book Now
Weather and what to pack
December and January are Dubai's mildest months. At Dubai International the 1991 to 2020 normals give an average high of 26.5°C and low of 17.4°C in December, and 24.4°C and 15.3°C in January. Rain is rare: about 15 to 21 mm a month, on three days or so.
Days are warm and sunny, ideal for the outdoor evening shows, while nights can feel cool by the water, especially in January.
Worth packing
- A light jacket or jumper for evenings by the creek and the beach
- Comfortable walking shoes for long mall days
- Sunglasses and sunscreen for daytime outdoors
- Clothes that cover shoulders and knees for the souks and Old Dubai
- A spare foldable bag for purchases
- Passport and receipts for tax-free refunds at the airport
Flights to Dubai for Dubai Shopping Festival
The busiest routes into Dubai (DXB).
FromTo DAC DXB DhakaDubai FromTo CGP DXB ChattogramDubai FromTo ZYL DXB SylhetDubai Available airlines1 airline- Biman Bangladesh Airlines
Car hire in Dubai
Airport transfer to Dubai Shopping Festival
Met at arrivals at Dubai International Airport (DXB) and driven door to door to Citywide.
- Dubai International Airport (DXB) → Citywide
- 21 km · 25 min
Restaurants and food in United Arab Emirates
Places to eat in United Arab Emirates before or after the celebrations.
Erth
Al Hosn, Al Hosn Cultural District, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Cuisine:EmiratiModern Middle Eastern
- Dine-in
- Outdoor seating
At.mosphere
Level 122, Burj Khalifa, Downtown Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Cuisine:Modern EuropeanFrench-inspired
- Dine-in
- Bar
Ravi Restaurant
Shop 245, 9th Street, opposite Union Cooperative Society, near Al Satwa Roundabout, Al Satwa, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Cuisine:PakistaniPunjabi
- Dine-in
- Takeaway
- Outdoor seating
Al Ustad Special Kabab
Al Musalla Road, near Al Fahidi, Bur Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Cuisine:IranianPersian
- Dine-in
- Takeaway
Trèsind Studio
St. Regis Gardens, The Palm Jumeirah, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Cuisine:Progressive IndianTasting menu
- Dine-in
- Counter seating
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Shoppers spending a set minimum at participating stores enter the draws. Last season that meant daily draws for a car and cash, weekly gold prizes and a large grand prize on the closing day.
Yes. The fireworks and most outdoor shows are free to watch. Last season the nightly display was over the creek at Festival Bay, with extra shows at weekends and on New Year's Eve.
Dubai Mall, Mall of the Emirates and Dubai Festival City Mall carry most of the action, and thousands of smaller shops join in across the city.
Yes, on eligible purchases. Request the tax-free paperwork when you pay, then validate it at the airport on your way out.
Gold is one of the main sale categories, alongside fashion and electronics, and last season it also turned up among the weekly prizes. Compare weight and price per gram between shops before committing.
Last season the New Year displays were spread across several waterfronts. Expect the confirmed list a few weeks before the night.
For a break from the malls, yes. The mountain town has a restored heritage village with old watchtowers, the Hatta Dam, and it hosted weekend festival shows last season, and the express bus makes it a straightforward day out.
Once. The 2006 edition was postponed and then cancelled after the death of the ruler. Every other winter since the first festival in 1996 has gone ahead.
The move lines it up with Christmas and New Year, when travellers from Europe and Asia are on holiday. The festival used to run through January and into February.
For a short trip, yes. It sits about two kilometres from the airport terminals, its hotels share the site with the mall, and last season the nightly display went up right over the creek there.