More than 2.5 million visitors, an increase of 10 percent over last year, will make Dubai their destination during this summer season as Dubai Summer Surprises kicked off on June 19. The 11th season of DSS, the region's biggest summer spectacle, marked a new era brining the city to life and promises a world of fun, excitement, and entertainment for the whole family welcoming visitors from all over the world. Organized and run by the Dubai Shopping Festival Office (DSFO), DSS 2008 will run until August 22 features a spectacular mix of shopping, winning, family entertainment, spa packages and endless thrills at Modhesh Fun City all coming together under the Tens of Surprises, where an exhilarating line-up of events unfolds every alternate day throughout the 65-days of celebration. This year, we are expecting a 10 percent increase in visitors to reach 2.5 million visitors with an overall spending crossing the AED4 billion mark, up by 25 percent from 2007, said Laila Suhail, chief executive officer, DSFO. In line with this exciting change, the events organized have been specially created to cater for the diverse tourist profiles that frequent Dubai. This year's highlights include the Signature Events, comprising of eight exciting activities for mall shoppers and visitors, in addition to Modhesh Fun City, the focus of entertainment during DSS with numerous new zones added, strengthening its reputation as the largest indoor edutainment venue in the region. The Spa promotions this year also offer multiple various indulgence offerings for the ultimate pampering. “DSS 2008 marks the beginning of a new chapter in the history of the city's summer festivities, the biggest in the region and a now a globally-recognized spectacle eagerly awaited by families from all over the world. Each day for over two months, we have prepared exciting ways to experience the many leisure, entertainment, shopping, wellness and entertainment offers of the city of Dubai. Dubai Summer Surprises has been witnessing a steady growth in visitor numbers and expenditure since inception in 1998 and this among many other tourism initiatives undertaken by the Emirate of Dubai. __
