Visa records 34 per cent growth in international spending in the first week of Dubai Shopping Festival 2013

  • Over US$153m spent in the first week alone on internationally issued Visa cards in UAE during region’s biggest shopping extravaganza
  • Russians, Britons and Saudis are among DSF’s highest spending international shoppers
  • Number of transactions during the week rose 32 per cent compared to first week of DSF 2012

Karachi, 28 January, 2013: International visitors to the UAE have spent over US$153 million on their Visa cards in the first week of Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) 2013, registering a massive 34 per cent year-on-year growth over the first week of DSF 2012, according to statistics issued today by Visa, one of the world’s leading electronic payments networks and a lead sponsor of the region’s premier shopping event.

The results collected by the company’s Visa Vue® Travel data service showed that the total inbound Visa card spend in the UAE between 3 January and 9 January 2013, was over $153.35 million compared to $114.25 million during the first week of DSF 2012. International visitors used their Visa cards 539,391 times in the first week of this year’s DSF, compared to 408,096 times in the first week of DSF 2012, recording a significant 32 per cent year-on-year increase.

DSF 2013 got off to an excellent start, with spending on overseas-issued Visa cards on the first day of DSF touching $21.19 million – an increase of 22 per cent over the first day of DSF 2012. The number of individual transactions conducted on Day 1 of DSF 2013 also increased 19 per cent, to 71,036.