UAE residents are keen photo-snapping, environmentally conscious holiday goers that have been known to take the odd hotel battery and towel home with them, according to a new report by LivingSocial and MarketSight. The report, commissioned by local commerce company LivingSocial as part of its on-going efforts to discover and share information about local social trends and behaviour, also suggests that UAE residents prefer the Eiffel Tower as a destination over Timbuktu and would choose shopping, eating and relaxing over strenuous sports activities when abroad.
When it comes to holidays, UAE residents are never without a camera to document their travels with 72 per cent admitting to taking an abundance of photos on holiday. The survey also revealed that UAE residents are prone to socializing as 58 per cent believed they were likely to meet new people and make new friends while on holiday. Social and avid photographers, UAE residents also showed a substantial concern for the environment with 53 per cent of respondents highlighting an eco-friendly destination or hotel as a priority.
You can take the UAE residents out of the UAE, but you can’t take UAE out of the resident. Favourite pastimes are transferable to foreign lands, with 42 per cent naming shopping as a favourite activity, 32 per cent selecting eating in great restaurants, and 30 per cent opting for a good chill out session on the beach. Volunteering was bottom of the favourite pastimes list with only four per cent selecting the charitable option. Adventure sports on sea or snow are also a no-go with only five per cent choosing snowboarding and skiing, and only five per cent selecting diving or snorkeling as preferred holiday activities.
While keen to document every move with a camera and mingle, UAE residents nevertheless find it difficult to completely disconnect from work when on holiday. UAE residents are never completely off the grid with 67 per cent of respondents admitting to checking their phones and emails while on holiday. Detaching themselves from home seems to be easier with home apparently not being where the heart is, with only 25 per cent confessing to missing home when on holiday.
According to the results, UAE residents are dream guests for hotels with 54 per cent denying having ever taken or ‘accidentally packed’ hotel property. Others have been tempted by guest room items with 19 per cent confessing to having taken towels, 11 per cent batteries, and nine per cent bathrobes. Safe on the hotel inventory list are clock radios with only 5% having pinched the digital device and only three per cent confessing to having taken a lamp or a lightbulb.
UAE residents have visited an average of six foreign countries and- assuming money was no issue- 27 per cent voted Paris’ Eiffel Tower as the key landmark to visit. Following closely behind was the Great Wall of China (24 per cent) and in third place was India’s Taj Mahal (22 per cent). Bottom of the priority list was Timbuktu with only two per cent opting to visit the town in Mali; the ruins of Chichen Itza are also of little appeal with only three per cent selecting the archeological site in Mexico as a top destination choice.
According to the survey, getting lost is UAE residents’ number one mishap on vacation with 20 per cent admitting to losing their way and a further 19 per cent struggling to find a bathroom in the hour of need. Although victims to getting lost and struggling to find the toilets, UAE residents are nevertheless savvy tourists with only 18 per cent of respondents admitting to being overcharged by a skilled vendor. The survey also found that UAE residents are very careful with their property with only seven per cent having been pickpocketed or robbed and only six per cent having been victims of a scam or having had their passports or ID stolen.