Sheikh Majid Al Mualla, Emirates Divisional Senior Vice President of Commercial Operations, Centre, affirmed that the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) has grown to become one of the most important fixtures on Dubais annual calendar attracting a huge influx of visitors from around the world.
As a long-standing Strategic Partner of the Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE), an agency of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), Emirates has been a key contributor of DSFs success year after year by offering many exclusive promotions for international visitors to visit Dubai during this period.

In an interview with the Media Centre of DFRE, Sheikh Majid Al Mualla said that as part of its commitment to encourage more and more visitors to Dubai, Emirates has introduced additional flights from KSA, Kuwait and other markets, to fulfill the huge demand of tourists keen on experiencing the festivals diverse offerings.

Excerpts of the interview
How would you describe the impact of DSF on Emirates Airlines over the past 20 years and how do you see it this year? Emirates Airlines has always looked forward to supporting all the initiatives that are aimed at reinforcing Dubais position as a leading destination for trade, tourism and business. Since 1996, we have been an integral part of DSFs journey of becoming one of the most popular festivals on both a regional and international level.

The festival has proven its significance by attracting a huge number of visitors and tourists from all over the world, especially the GCC countries. It has also contributed immensely to the citys many economic sectors such as retail, hospitality and the aviation industry. The longevity of DSF and its solid growth over the past two decades bears testimony to its phenomenal success and the instrumental role it plays in furthering Dubais position on the world map. As a Strategic Partner for Dubai Festivals & Retail Establishment, what was the effect of DSF on the number of the passengers using Emirates Airlines? Today, Dubai enjoys an enviable international standing, thanks to the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, which led the city to become one of the most preferred year-round destinations, in view of its exceptional tourism offerings, entertainment opportunities, world-class infrastructure and international events and festivals. This has encouraged many businessmen and tourists, including families and people who like to travel, to come and visit Dubai, resulting in a significantly positive impact on the passenger traffic.

And under the leadership of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of the Department of Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates airline and Group and Chairman of Dubai World, we're always striving to be up to date in terms of meeting our passengers needs by offering them the best and state-of-the-art facilities and services.

Since the beginning of DSF 2015, we have recorded an increase of 12% in the number of passengers compared with the same period last year and we expect this growth will continue at a steady pace until the end of the festival. Most of the visitors come from around 25 countries, comprising around 50% of the inbound passengers to Dubai. Popular destinations include Mumbai, Kuwait, Karachi, London, Delhi, Doha, Cairo, Beirut, Muscat, Manila, Paris, Riyadh, Jeddah, Frankfurt and Munich.

How many flights do you offer to Gulf Countries during Dubai Shopping Festival?
Tourists from the GCC countries come in huge numbers to Dubai every year during the festival as it coincides with the school vacations in these countries. We see the Gulf region as one of our key markets given the high spending power of the residents in these countries. And because of the increased demand during DSF, we added 13 flights operating between Dubai and Jeddah, 2 flights operating between Riyadh and Dubai and 4 flights operating between Dubai and Kuwait. Last December, we also introduced additional daily regular flights to Muscat, Bahrain, Dammam and Kuwait to satisfy the demand of people wanting to travel from and to these destinations. Due to the same reason, we also increased the numbers of flights to Iran last year, to increase the frequency to 4 flights per day.

In relation to your annual business plans and strategy how important is the DSF period to the success of your business?
Each year, Emirates Airlines adds around 10 flights to its international network to attract more visitors to Dubai, which gives us an added incentive to devise strong marketing strategies focused on Dubais unique tourism offerings including its world-class festivals. DSF is one of the most important festivals that we promote as part of our marketing plans.

We are also doing our best to collaborate with the concerned authorities to increase the number of passengers using Dubai Airports from 10% to 22% in the upcoming years. We also have put together layover programmes for transit passengers offering them the chance to spend a few days in Dubai and enjoy the various events.

What special initiatives, promotions and customer engagement strategies have you implemented for the 20th anniversary edition of DSF?
During the ongoing edition of DSF, Emirates Airlines offered travellers the opportunity to enjoy Emirates Holidays, an exclusive promotion offered in several countries especially GCC and Arab nations. Welcome 2015 was another promotion, which started last December, offering discounts ranging between 20-25% to people traveling on business and economy classes on any flight. We also have offers for passengers from GCC countries who want to visit Dubai during DSF, such as additional Miles for members of the Skywards frequent-flyer programme.

Emirates Airlines also offers many leading-edge services on ground as well as on board including 36 waiting areas for passengers of first and business classes in addition to the Wi-Fi services, which allow passengers of the Emirates A380 and Boeing 777 to enjoy complimentary internet access. Today, Emirates Airlines fleet has 232 aircraft including 14 airfreight carriers and 57 A380 aircraft. If you could sum up in just one phrase what DSF means to Emirates

Airlines what would that phrase be?
DSF is an international event that attracts tourists from different nationalities. How important has DSF been to the overall economic development of Dubai and promoting the Emirate around the world over the past two decades? Since its inception, DSF has achieved resounding success, with its highly creative marketing campaigns and promotional offers that have made the festival one of the biggest and the longest running festival of its kind in the world. This growth of DSF has coincided with the development of Dubai at large over the last twenty years. The festival has encouraged businessmen and companies to invest in Dubais hospitality and retail sectors. These investments have led to many international brands extending their presence in Dubai which has eventually become home to some of the largest and the most luxurious shopping malls and top hotels globally.