'Multi-cultural set-up makes Dubai exciting'

Dubai has multiple nationalities from different parts of the world living together, including from India, the Caribbean and South Africa. The "multi-cultural" trait makes this the most populous living together city of the UAE, an "exciting" place to reside in and make business, says a spokesperson of an establishment entrusted with positioning the city as an entertainment hub.

The ongoing Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) is an annual initiative of the Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment, which also organises other food, fashion, accessories and entertainment-related events in the city round the year.

"What makes Dubai great is the multi-cultural feeling in the city. There are multiple nationalities living here and that makes it quite interesting," Saeed Mohammed Mesam Al Falasi, the Strategic Alliance Director of Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DTCM), told IANS here.

"There are Indians, Caribbeans, South Africans and many more living here... I think that the safety that this place offers, and the multi-cultural aspect makes it quite exciting," Falasi added.

The trade relations between India and Dubai, he said, "have always been great" and Indian brands across jewellery, fashion and food categories have a great market in Dubai, where Bollywood movies and their stars are quite popular.

Falasi said: "All the nationals have grown up with Indian movies. We have a channel, and I remember the time when every Thursday night, they used to show Indian movies."

The DSF is adding more charm to the luxury shopping experience and lively nightlife scene of Dubai with products of brands from across the globe.

But Falasi feels there's no "nationality competition", but "business competition" with international brands. From Louis Vuitton to Victoria's Secret, Armani Exchange to Ralph Lauren and even affordable ones like Splash, Max, H&M and Zara are on offer at sprawling malls here.

The DTCM representative said that DSF, which will conclude on February 1 this year, attracts spends of "almost 15 billion Dirham" from customers.

"One of the biggest mandates that we have is to increase the tourists in the city and help the economy. Festivals and retails go hand in hand and support each other. Having a festival in the city is very important.

"DSF is the first festival that we started and it is probably the longest running festival of its kind. Almost 4.5 million people come to Dubai to be the part of this festival," he added.

DTCM plans to host more such festivals, and a fashion show is one among the many.

"For the first time, a fashion show on ice will be seen in Dubai. We did a fashion show in a metro, we did a fashion show at Burj Khalifa, and that was amazing. Every day we try to come up with something different and we are trying to keep up the pace," he said.

(Nivedita was recently in UAE at the invitation of Dubai's Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing. She can be contacted at nivedita.s@ians.in)