Unforgettable Moments at the Silver Anniversary of Dubai Summer Surprises

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 16 September 2022: As the 25th-anniversary edition of Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS) concluded, its key strategic partners celebrated one of the most successful editions ever, filled with family fun, incredible shopping deals, dazzling entertainment, and unforgettable moments.

Organised by Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE), the 10-week festival, which ran from 1 July until 4 September, provided the opportunity for businesses within the retail sector to thrive over the summer months and offered even more reasons to shop, dine, and be entertained in malls across the city. 

Ahmed Al Khaja, CEO of Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE), said: “The 25^th edition of Dubai Summer Surprises will live in memory as one of the festival’s best editions yet. The spectacular line-up of promotions, events, and experiences has enabled Dubai’s residents and visitors to explore every part of the city and make the most of the summer season, from the wide selection of shopping malls to tourist landmarks and incredible restaurants and hotels.

“Dubai Summer Surprises has played a vital role in supporting the development of the retail and entertainment scene in Dubai over the past 25 years, helping to transform the city into one of the top retail and shopping destinations worldwide. And we’re proud to have once again worked so closely with our strategic partners, including retailers, to create 10 weeks of wonderful memories for everyone.”

Idealz

Jad Toubayly, Founder & CEO, Idealz, said: “We are proud to culminate another successful festival alongside DFRE, who continue to pave the future of raffles and promotions in Dubai by encouraging the digitization of this space. Our highlights during DSS are a testament to this. Having awarded more than 500 prizes valued at over AED 15 million throughout the summer extravaganza, including 10 cars and AED 10 million in cash, we are witnessing first-hand the increased trust in digital raffles.”

Al-Futtaim Malls

Hayssam Hajjar, Dubai General Manager of Al-Futtaim Malls, said: “Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS) is always an anticipated event on Al-Futtaim Malls’ calendar. Once again, Dubai Festival City Mall has seen incredible success during the season with triple the Average Transaction Value per customer and an overall footfall increase of approximately 14 percent when compared to DSS 2021. These numbers are a testament to the positive impact DSS has on retail destinations, compounded by Festival City Mall’s customer-focused offering and diverse activations for all to enjoy. We look forward to continuing to build on this success next year.”

Nakheel

Omar Khoory, Chief Assets Officer at Nakheel, said: “Running for its 25^th edition, Dubai Summer Surprises continues to bring great success year on year. Nakheel’s engaging retail calendar featuring back-to-school activities for children, shop and win offers and exclusive promotions at Nakheel Mall, Ibn Battuta Mall, and Circle Mall attracted a high number of visitors from across the country. As DSS 2022 has now drawn to a close, we are gearing up to introduce a dynamic line-up of interactive activations across our assets for the winter season.”

Mercato

Nisreen Boustani, PR and Corporate Communication Manager at Mercato & Town Centre Jumeirah, said: “Mercato is pleased to announce a very positive response during the 25^th edition of DSS. The wonderful array of spectacular circus live entertainment, exciting shop and win promotions, amazing discount offers and weekly cash prizes have all certainly played a major role in attracting more tourists and local residents. These visitors benefitted from considerable price reductions across many stores in both Mercato and Town Centre Jumeirah, and enjoyed memorable shopping experiences by winning valuable prizes. The DSS campaign provides retailers with their biggest footfall of the year and most profitable annual sales period; we have noticed an increase of 50 percent in the mall’s footfall and sales figures during DSS 2022 compared to the same period last year during DSS  2021.”

DIFC

Saleh Al Akrabi, Chief Executive Officer, DIFC Property Management, said: “We are committed to supporting the vision of Dubai’s leadership to underline the city as a year-round destination. For the 25th anniversary of Dubai Summer Surprises, we partnered with Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE) to host fun and unique lifestyle experiences at Gate Avenue in Dubai International Financial Centre, ensuring there was something for everyone. As part of our destination offering, we will continue to focus on promoting inspiring cultural events at Gate Avenue for the community and visitors.”

ENOC

His Excellency Saif Humaid Al Falasi, Group CEO, ENOC, said: “The 25th anniversary of Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS) provided us with an incredible opportunity to reward our customers for their loyalty over the years. This year’s edition of DSS has been particularly successful as we focused on giving back to our customers with value-added benefits while continuing to drive strong sales growth year on year. This is in line with our commitment to continue to support the growth of Dubai’s tourism industry through our successful partnership with Dubai Festival and Retail Establishment (DFRE).”

Merex Investment

Lizelle Fitoussi, Director of Marketing, Merex Investment, said: “Dubai Summer Surprises has been a major success this year as it celebrated its milestone 25^th anniversary, and we ensured that visitors were treated to fun-packed activities across our three destinations to create a memorable experience.               

“With the FIFA World Cup coming up, City Walk kicked off Football Mania, which offered visitors four licensed football games on large digital walls. The campaign boosted our footfall as football lovers across the emirates lined up to experience it. At La Mer, Ladies Night at Laguna Waterpark made a comeback offering endless water activities and All-You-Can-Eat deals. From offers on ladies’ nights, taco nights and endless live entertainment, The Beach’s latest addition, Pavilion at The Beach – a 60,000 square feet air-conditioned retail space featuring six licensed restaurants was also a prime spot to be at for Summer. We also launched the Summer Gourmet Guides across all three destinations to showcase the amazing gastronomy that we offer during the summer.”

Dubai Holding Asset Management

Fareed Abdelrahman, Managing Director of Retail Destinations, Dubai Holding Asset Management, said: “Every year, Dubai Summer Surprises brings fresh impetus to Dubai’s vibrant lifestyle ecosystem.  As the 25^th edition comes to a close, we are pleased to have joined forces with the Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE) to bring unmatched experiences across Dubai Holding Asset Management’s retail destinations, from immersive experiences at the iconic Bluewaters island to incredible offers at Al Seef. With such a breadth of activities, experiences and offers, it comes as no surprise that Dubai is the world’s most popular travel destination. Shopping festivals like these paired with a lively retail calendar year-round attract millions of visitors from every corner of the world while contributing to residents’ quality of life and entertainment. We are delighted that we were able to be part of yet another successful festival with DFRE and look forward to offering all-round entertainment this winter season.”

Emirates Airlines

Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ Chief Commercial Officer, said: “We have seen robust inbound passenger traffic to Dubai during the summer months this year, demonstrating the global appeal of the city as a ‘must visit’ destination with an ever-growing list of experiences for visitors and holidaymakers. Dubai Summer Surprises continues to play an important role in drawing in visitors and tourists with its world-class shopping experiences and impressive attractions, events, and entertainment for every taste and budget. The continued success of DSS showcases the city’s compelling value proposition as a summer destination of choice among travellers, and Emirates is proud to play an important role in promoting Dubai, building demand from international markets, and making it easier and more convenient to visit the city as we continue to grow our network and flying schedule.”

Majid Al Futtaim Properties

Fuad Sharaf, Managing Director, UAE Shopping Malls, Majid Al Futtaim Properties, said: “Every year during DSS, we offer exciting and innovative retail experiences that attract residents and tourists alike to our malls and this year was the perfect example of this. As shoppers looked for a holistic experience indoors, we launched a regional first, Minions: The Rise of Gru experience and LEGO Certified Store Roadshow in Mall of the Emirates and City Centre Mirdif, attracting thousands of families. In addition, we showcased an exciting gastronomic experience pop-up at City Centre Mirdif with home-grown food favourite, SALT, following the results of the Big City Centre Vote. Meanwhile, City Centre Deira launched its ‘Closer than Ever’ campaign to give visitors an opportunity to send e-postcards to loved ones as part of the mall’s efforts to build more meaningful connections with the community. With DSS being at the heart of the Emirate’s summer season, we were delighted to offer unique shopping experiences alongside fantastic deals and promotions for everyone to enjoy.”

AWR Automotive

Michel Ayat, CEO of AWR Automotive, said: “Every year, Dubai Summer Surprises brings people nationwide and regionally together to benefit from the exceptional retail offers across Dubai that were designed with customer happiness in mind. Arabian Automobiles Company has proudly been a strategic partner of this shopping extravaganza since its outset 25 years ago, presenting attractive deals across our Nissan, INFINITI, and Renault lineups. Under the guidance of our wise leadership, Dubai will annually attract the attention of global shoppers, granting them access to exceptional deals.”

Organised by Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE), Dubai Summer Surprises will return next summer for its 26th edition. Visit www.mydss.ae for more information and @CelebrateDubai and @StyledbyDubai on social media channels.

Dubai Summer Surprises is supported by Key Sponsor RAKBANK MasterCard and Strategic Partners which include: Al Futtaim Group (Dubai Festival City Mall & Festival Plaza), Al Seef, Al Zarooni Group (Mercato Shopping Mall), AW Rostamani Group, Bluewaters, Citywalk, Dubai International Financial Centre (The Gate Avenue), Emirates Airline, Enoc, Etisalat, La Mer, Majid Al Futtaim (Mall of the Emirates, City Centre Mirdif, City Centre Deira), Nakheel Malls (Ibn Battuta Mall, The Pointe, Nakheel Mall, Dragon Mart 2), The Beach and The Outlet Village. 

About Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment

Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE), an agency of Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), is responsible for developing Dubai’s retail and festival sectors and supporting the positioning of Dubai as a world-class tourism destination with year-round family entertainment, shopping and events.