DUBAI: Dubai Duty Free celebrated the Diwali Festival of Light in Dubai International Airport today with a special reception attended by H.E. Vipul, the Indian Consul General to Dubai. Dubai Duty Free’s Executive Vice Chairman and CEO, Mr. Colm McLoughlin led the senior management group in welcoming H.E. Vipul and was joined by Dubai Duty Free’s Chief Operating Officer, Ramesh Cidambi and Executive Vice President – Corporate Services, Salah Tahlak.
To mark the festivities a traditional Indian dance (Kathak dance) was performed by the dance troupe Gurukul Dubai, to welcome the guests in Terminal 3 Concourse B before H.E. Vipul was invited to join in the draw for the popular Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire and Finest Surprise promotions.
Mrs. Fehmida Tanveeer, a Pakistani national based in Dubai won US$1 million in Series number 285 with ticket number 0373. Mrs. Tanveeer, a Dubai resident for 10 years bought a total of 18 tickets online for this series along with her husband.
“Thank God for this wonderful news! It our first time to win this big and this will definitely go a long way. Thank you so much Dubai Duty Free!”
Following the Millennium Millionaire draw, a presentation was made to previous winner, Mr. Sourav Dey, a 45 year old Indian national living in Dubai who won in Series no. 284 with ticket no. 3070.
“I’m especially delighted to attend the presentation and to meet the Dubai Duty Free team who made this happen along with Consul General H.E. Vipul. Thank you Dubai Duty Free and I wish you more success this Diwali.” commented Mr. Dey on receiving his prize.
H.E. Vipul also joined in the Finest Surprise draw where Mr. Faisal Salem Al Masoud, a Kuwaiti national will be driving away in a new Bentley Bentayga car after he won in Series 1701 with ticket number 1656. Meanwhile Mr. Andrew Boxall, an Australian national from Western Australia won an Indian Scouts motorbike in Series 350 with ticket number 0160.
Both the car and motorbike winners were not immediately available for comments and their surprise still awaits them.
After the draw, the Dubai Duty Free group and Consul General were led by Dubai Duty Free staff in traditional Indian attire to Concourse C (Control Tower) for the ceremonial cake cutting and a second dance performance by Gurukul Dubai, much to the delight of passengers.
Commenting on the Diwali celebration, Colm McLoughlin said,” We are privileged to be joined by the Indian Consul General, H.E. Vipul to celebrate Diwali. Dubai Duty Free employs 934 Indian nationals and Indian passengers account for 18% of our business, so it is appropriate that we mark this most popular Festival which is celebrated all over the world.”
Consul General, H.E. Vipul said, “Thank you Colm and Ramesh for inviting me here and for Dubai Duty Free to celebrate Diwali. I feel very happy when I see Diwali being celebrated across Dubai and in Dubai Duty Free, in particular. I feel happy that you are doing good business and so many Indians are employed with Dubai Duty Free and Indian nationals pass through Dubai Airport for tourism or transit.”
As part of the promotional activities for Diwali, Dubai Duty Free rolled out a series of special promotions including a 20% discount offer on November 1st and 2nd for all arriving and departing passengers travelling through Dubai International and Al Maktoum International Airport. The two-day sale resulted in a shopping spree which saw sales of Dhs 61.3 million (US$17 million). From a category point of view, Cosmetics was the top performing category with sales of Dhs 13.2 million (US$3.6 million) during the two days followed by Perfumes sales which amounted to Dhs 10.5 million (US$3 million).
Other attractive offers featured at Dubai Duty Free includes an exclusive collection of 24karat gold figurines of Hindu Gods and Goddesses, each representing different powers of the Hindu faith. Themed retail areas for Diwali are in place throughout the retail operation, featuring the most popular products, while Indian staff are dressed in traditional attire to add to the authentic atmosphere News Desk
