UAE Residents Prepare for National Day Celebration
- 87% of online respondents look forward to celebrating National Day
- 68% of online respondents plan to watch the celebratory fireworks
- 28% plan to decorate their car for National Day
The majority of online respondents are looking forward to celebrating UAE National Day (87 percent), including a high proportion of Arab and Asian expats (89 percent and 88 percent respectively). Among those who are looking forward to celebrating, more than half say they will do so with their family (53 percent), while almost one-third plan to celebrate with their friends (31 percent).
Following Dubai’s victory for Expo 2020; among online respondents who said it would impact UAE National Day celebrations (71 percent), the majority says the celebrations for the UAE National Day will increase (96 percent).
Regarding UAE National day celebrations, almost two-thirds of online respondents say they enjoy fireworks the most (64 percent). When respondents were asked which activities they personally plan to engage in, roughly two-thirds say they will watch fireworks (68 percent), followed by almost one-third who plans to eat out (30 percent). Around one-quarter say plan decorate their car (26 percent), participate in car parades (23 percent), and engage in other ‘midnight celebrations’ such as walking down the streets, going to beaches etc (23 percent). A similar proportion plans to dress up in the colors of UAE Flag (17 percent) and attend concerts (15 percent) to celebrate the UAE National Day.
More than half of online respondents plan to purchase flags specifically to celebrate the UAE National day (55 percent), while over one-third intends to purchase accessories such as key chains, stickers etc. (35 percent). Over one-quarter plan to buy car decorations (28 percent), while over a fifth say they plan to purchase clothes that have the colors of the UAE Flag (21 percent).
Among those who plan to decorate their car, over one-quarter plan to spend between AED 100-150 (28 percent), while similar proportion say they would spend between AED 200-250 (17 percent), between AED 500-1000 (18 percent), and above AED 1000 (16 percent). Over one-third plan to spend between AED 100-200 on cloths that have colors of the UAE flag (36 percent), while one-quarter anticipate spending between AED 200-400 (26 percent). Among those who plan to purchase flags, around one-quarter plan to spend between AED 50-80 (23 percent), while another quarter plan to spend between AED 100-200 (27 percent). One-third of respondents who plan to purchase accessories (such as key chains, stickers) plan to spend between AED 20-50 while almost one-quarter say they would spend between AED 50-100 (24 percent).
When online respondents were asked which places they plan to visit at midnight on UAE National Day, one-quarter of online respondents plan to visit Jumeirah Beach Road and another 24 percent plan to go to the Abu Dhabi Corniche. One-fifth (20 percent) plan to visit Downtown Dubai (near Burj Khalifa), while a similar proportion intend to visit 2nd December Street (18 percent), Sheikh Zayed Road (18 percent), Global Village (17 percent) and Mamzar (15 percent). Over one-tenth of online respondents plan to visit Qanat Al Qasba in Sharjah (12 percent).
The survey was conducted using the YouGov Online Panel and all questionnaires were completed between the 25th November-28th November 2013. The results are based on a total sample of 884 respondents living in UAE.