Experience the best of Dubai’s shopping offerings with Cebu Pacific

 Dubai is the shopaholics paradise, you can find almost anything here from skincare to bags to chocolates to electronics, on sale, all year round. Think anything you want and voila! Dubai is the answer.

Beyond its impressive skyscrapers, a seven-star hotel, and romantic desert safari, there are countless reasons why Dubai has skyrocketed on top of every stylish traveler’s bucket list. The city has transformed shopping into an art with its highly anticipated annual shopping festival, glamorous malls, atmospheric souks, and the best of high-end brands and quirky finds that are available. Cebu Pacific, the country’s leading airline, offers every Juan the chance to explore the best that Asia’s emerging shopping juggernaut has to offer, as it flies direct from Manila to Dubai.

Scarves abound at Dubai souks in a variety of color and prints.

Dubai’s definitive shopping festivals.
 Held annually from January to February when the Dubai weather is at its coolest, the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) is more than just a shopaholic’s paradise where tourists can score as much as 70-percent off on glam finds. Attracting more than 3 million people to Dubai every year, the DSF also features film festivals, fashion shows, and fantastic street performances. Those who want to plan their shopping strategies can find out more about this shopping festival on www.mydsf.ae.

From spices to stylish slippers, the souks in Dubai are a feast for the senses

Tourists who want to avoid the peak season and the throng of buyers during the Shopping Festival can visit its summer version, the Dubai Summer Surprises, which is held yearly from July to August. Offering citywide promos and sales, this more family-oriented shopping festival offers plenty of attractions for kids of all ages—from playgrounds and soft toy areas, to the latest video games and a 4D cinema. Another must-see stop for young adventurers is the Modhesh World's Summer Camp, a 37,000-square-meter indoor summer playground that is home to uniquely themed educational and entertainment zones. Plan an amazing Dubai summer experience by visiting www.summerisdubai.com.



The best of high-end shopping.
The Dubai Mall, the city’s biggest mall, is also the world’s most visited destination for three consecutive years. This 500,000 square-meter behemoth houses over 1,200 shops as well as the Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo and the SEGA Republic theme park. The mall will continue to expand to accommodate the influx of visitors, adding new personalized and flagship stores of famous international fashion brands to its Fashion Avenue. Meanwhile, the Mall of the Emirates, recognized as the world’s first-ever shopping resort, houses over 500 international brands, from fashion and lifestyle to sports and electronics. Aside from designer and boutique brands such as the Harvey Nichols department store, the mall houses a traditional Arabian souk-themed section lined with 26 stores. For tourists looking for alternative yet equally stylish shopping spots beyond the bigger malls, the less frequented Wafi Mall and Mercato Mall are quieter but are as stunning with their Egyptian and European inspired architectures and wide selection of designer brands and interesting crafts shops.

Strolling around Dubai’s charming souks.
 While its massive malls may have earned Dubai its world-class reputation as a shopping destination, a visit to the city will not be complete without experiencing the lively and vibrant traditional souks that showcase local handicrafts, textiles, and spices. Immerse in the surplus of aromas, from frankincense to exotic herbs and spices, at the Deira Spice Souk. At the colorful Deira Gold Souq, there is all-day glitter with jewelry and gold on display in shop windows summoning the attention of those looking for bling. The city’s oldest market place is located in Sharjah, and the now air-conditioned alleyways of this covered market is filled with souks, bazaars, and shops that sell an abundance of finds from antique handicrafts, wooden Arabic wood pieces, handmade jewelries, and hand-woven garments, and novelties.

The cosmopolitan city of Dubai is also getting ready to make it even bigger in the international area, winning the right to host the World Expo 2020. The first Middle Eastern city to host the trade exhibition, Dubai is adopting the theme “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future” and is set to build a huge exhibition center, new hotels, entertainment venues, and improved public transportation, among other developments. For more information, visit www.dubaitourism.ae. Explore the best of Dubai shopping with Cebu Pacific Air with year-round fares starting for as low as P4,999. Plan ahead and get baggage allowance up to 40 kilos for your shopping finds too! Visit www.cebupacificair.com and book your flight now.

Fly for less, buymore at Asia’s shopping hubs via Cebu Pacific

From the most luxurious brands in Dubai to the exhilarating markets of Bangkok, Filipinos will surely enjoy spending less on their airfare and splurging more on great deals as Cebu Pacific continues to offer its trademark lowest fares to some of the world’s best shopping hubs.

From designer brands to unique finds. Hong Kong, Asia’s cultural melting pot, scores perfectly in every tourist’s checklist with its world-famous cuisine, wide array of sightseeing spots, and most of all, a wide selection of shopping options. From designer brands in The Landmark, Harbour City and Time Square to quirky finds in the night markets of Mongkok, Hong Kong is the mecca for all kinds of shoppers. Those who want to do good, supporting local art while buying unique, quality pieces, should make a beeline to Artisans d’Angkor in Siem Reap, Cambodia. This social enterprise is dedicated to preserving and advancing traditional Khmer skills in silk-making, stone and wood carving, lacquering and painting, while providing job and educational opportunities to young people living in the rural areas. From exquisite silk scarves and bags, lacquer and wooden decoration, silk and pearl jewelry pieces, the shop has a lot of intricate items that will leave any guest spoiled for choice.

Shopping Oriental-style in Bangkok’s street markets. For many travelers, Bangkok is a smorgasbord of offerings, from century-old temples, exotic food, a pulsating nightlife, and most of all, countless shopping options. Bargain shopping is at its best in the city’s bustling street markets—from the massive Chatuchak Weekend Market, where virtually everything can be found, to the wholesalers’ paradise Pratunam Market. Options also abound in malls like MBK, Siam Paragon and Platinum, the open air Asiatique, The Riverfront mall and the quirky Terminal 21.

Fashion-forward travelers can also score great bargains on a range of quality fabric in an assortment of colors, designs and textures at the Ninh Hiep Fabric Market in Hanoi, Vietnam. Dong Xuan Market, a large covered market in the center of Hanoi, also sells everything from bags, clothes to Vietnamese souvenirs.

Best buys in Asia’s world-class cities. With all its superlative attractions, Dubai definitelysets the bar high, especially when it comes to the shopping experience. The Dubai Mall is one of the world’s largest malls and the most-visited shopping and leisure destination, with over 600 brands and the Dubai Aquarium and Discovery Centre. It is also near the breathtaking Dubai Fountain show, fronting the Burj Al Arab. Meanwhile, the world’s first shopping resort, the Mall of the Emirates, features 520 international brands as well as the Ski Dubai, 22,500 square meters of indoor ski area covered with real snow all year round.  For those looking for bargains and authentic finds, Dubai’s bustling and atmospheric souks in Deira and Bur Dubai are reminiscent of the street markets of Marrakesh and Istanbul, and are some of the most colorfulbazaars in the Middle East. These souks offer a wide array of spices, textiles, jewelry and perfume, perfect for any occasion or self-indulgent shopping spree.

In another part of the world, no trip to Japan is complete without a stopover at Akihabara in Tokyo, which is also known as a gamer’s paradise. The Yodabashi Akiba alone has nine floors housing an incredible collection of cameras, computers, gaming consoles and home electronics, as well as specialty hobbyist stores that sell toys, figures and model kits.

Shop ‘til you drop and let  Cebu Pacific fly you to Asia’s best shopping capitals at incredibly low fares. Sign up to be a CEB Club member for the latest seat sales, and book now through www.cebupacificair.com.