Business | Retail
DSF sees rise in Visa card spending
Overall, spending using Visa cards in the last year grew from $297 million to $406 million, up 37 per cent
- By Aya Lowe, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:00 January 25, 2012
Dubai: A growth in international spending using Visa credit cards during the Dubai Shopping Festival shows the increasing inclination of shoppers to use electronic money when shopping abroad, according to the latest statistics from Visa.
Overall, spending using Visa cards in the last year grew from $297 million (Dh1.1 billion) to $406 million, up 37 per cent.
According to Visa, the top three source markets are the UK, China and Saudi Arabia.
"DSF was conceived in 1996 as a retail-focused event to revitalise retail trade in Dubai. It is a very important event that drives nearly 70 per cent of revenue from cross-border transactions," said Maysara Ghadban, head of marketing communications of Visa Middle East.
All-round growth
Visitor numbers and spending have grown since the festival began, from 1.6 million visitors in 1996 to 3.5 million so far in 2012.
"Spending through internationally issued Visa debit and credit cards has shown strong growth during the DSF from top source markets and across all categories in 2011 versus 2010," Ghadban added.
China's growth is 109 per cent — the biggest — while Saudi Arabia saw a growth of 83 per cent. A Visa spokesperson said retail spend grew 49 per cent in 2011 over 2010 while spend on lodging grew 25 per cent.
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