First draw for contest on DSS interactive mobile portal today

Notes and media contacts

For more details and information please call:

Laila Suhail, Executive Project Director, Tel: 0097142020272,

Or the DSF Media Center:
Rana Ghazi, PR Manager, Tel: 009714-2020275, email: rghazi@mydsf.ae
Suhaib Abdullakutty, English Editor, Tel: 2020579, email: sabdulla@mydsf.ae
Ahlan Dubai Tel: 600545555 or DSF Website: www.mydss.ae


Note to editors:

Launched in 1998, Dubai Summer Surprises was conceived as the foremost family entertainment event during the summer season for the whole of GCC. Targeted at visitors from outside the UAE and within the country, DSS has been a major entertainment and shopping attraction since its inception and witnessed 1,875,000 visitors in the year 2006 compared to 600,000 in 1998. The event has succeeded in positioning Dubai as the leading summer destination in the region.

Organised by government departments with the cooperation of the public sector till last year, the ten-week event is a celebration of different surprises that offer visitors and shoppers the perfect family entertainment opportunity and the ideal combination of shopping and adventure. Over the years DSS has hosted numerous surprises such as Food, Water, Global, Ice, Flower, Sports, Heritage, Arts, Techno, Cartoons, Colour, Sweets, Knowledge, and Back-2-School. The summer event lays special emphasis on children, who are provided all the opportunities to hone their skills while enjoying a fun-packed ten weeks of activities. DSS also has its own mascot, Modhesh, the ever smiling brand ambassador who embodies everything that the event stands for - fun, excitement, brightness and unlimited joy for children.

Dubai Summer Surprises as a venture has contributed significantly to the economy of Dubai and continues to do so by enhancing different economic sectors during a lean period of economic activity in summer. An increase in visitor expenditure from AED 850 million in 1998 to AED 2.57 billion in 2006 is a clear indication of the event's ability to drive economic growth during summer. Into its tenth year, Dubai Summer Surprises has come a long way by building on the successes of the previous editions and aims to create a benchmark for future years to provide the three most important characteristics of the event - shopping, winning, and entertainment.