14 December 2003
DOHA: Emirates airline will waive the QR220 stopover charges for its passengers from Doha travelling to destinations beyond Dubai but wish to visit the emirate for the Dubai Shopping Festival 2004, A S Sudhir, the airline’s sales manager, Qatar, said yesterday.
In addition, passengers returning from the DSF will also be offered an additional 10kg free baggage allowance, he added.
The Dubai-based carrier, in its capacity as one of the 20 main sponsors of the forthcoming DSF, he said, has also offered packages in Dubai, starting at QR725 per person, which includes return air-fare between Doha and Dubai, hotel accomodation with breakfast, meet and assist services on arrival, return transfers between the airport and hotel and welcome pack from Arabian Adventures.
Emirates has offered such visitors a choice of 20 hotels, starting from as low as $30 per night on twin-sharing basis.
Meanwhile, the DSF this year, the eighth such to be held since its launch in 1996, attracted some 2.92 million tourists to Dubai who spent some QR5.12bn, an increase of 11.3 per cent over 2002, Ibrahim Saleh, chief operating officer, DSF, said. In 2002, the festival drew 2.68 million visitors accounting for a total of nearly QR4.60m spent. Ibrahim however said that the split between number of visitors who arrived in Dubai solely for the DSF and those who reside in the UAE and had visited the various attractions, was not available.
Statistics from the DSF this year revealed that spending on shopping only increased by 13.04 per cent to stand at QR3.9bn, as compared to QR3.45bn in 2002. Visitors to the DSF also spent about QR650m on eating out and entertainment, reflecting a raise of some 19.18 per cent from the nearly QR550m in the previous year.
“The impact of Eid Al Adha and school holidays, one of the primary reasons for shifting the dates of the DSF, significantly contributed to the increase of 19.5 per cent by visitors from the GCC region,” according to a DSF release.
DOHA: Emirates airline will waive the QR220 stopover charges for its passengers from Doha travelling to destinations beyond Dubai but wish to visit the emirate for the Dubai Shopping Festival 2004, A S Sudhir, the airline’s sales manager, Qatar, said yesterday.
In addition, passengers returning from the DSF will also be offered an additional 10kg free baggage allowance, he added.
The Dubai-based carrier, in its capacity as one of the 20 main sponsors of the forthcoming DSF, he said, has also offered packages in Dubai, starting at QR725 per person, which includes return air-fare between Doha and Dubai, hotel accomodation with breakfast, meet and assist services on arrival, return transfers between the airport and hotel and welcome pack from Arabian Adventures.
Emirates has offered such visitors a choice of 20 hotels, starting from as low as $30 per night on twin-sharing basis.
Meanwhile, the DSF this year, the eighth such to be held since its launch in 1996, attracted some 2.92 million tourists to Dubai who spent some QR5.12bn, an increase of 11.3 per cent over 2002, Ibrahim Saleh, chief operating officer, DSF, said. In 2002, the festival drew 2.68 million visitors accounting for a total of nearly QR4.60m spent. Ibrahim however said that the split between number of visitors who arrived in Dubai solely for the DSF and those who reside in the UAE and had visited the various attractions, was not available.
Statistics from the DSF this year revealed that spending on shopping only increased by 13.04 per cent to stand at QR3.9bn, as compared to QR3.45bn in 2002. Visitors to the DSF also spent about QR650m on eating out and entertainment, reflecting a raise of some 19.18 per cent from the nearly QR550m in the previous year.
“The impact of Eid Al Adha and school holidays, one of the primary reasons for shifting the dates of the DSF, significantly contributed to the increase of 19.5 per cent by visitors from the GCC region,” according to a DSF release.
© The Peninsula 2003
