UAE staycationers prefer visiting amusement parks: YouGov

A YouGov research indicates that more than half of UAE residents (54%) prefer taking staycations – a shorter holiday within the country or day trips exploring destinations in one’s own city – visiting an amusement or water park in the country. After amusement parks, a trip to nature or wildlife retreat is the second most preferred type of staycation by UAE residents (45%), followed by an adventure or sports-related outing (40%).

Although an amusement park is the top preference of all, singles and married couples without children are more likely than families with children to choose an adventurous outing (45% vs 36%). Families are more likely than those without children to pick nature (48% vs 42%) and luxury-related trips (38% vs 32%) for short getaways.

Owing to a wide variety of tourist offerings, most of the surveyed respondents (45%) are likely to consider Dubai for their next trip within the UAE. Large numbers are also considering Ras Al Khaimah (39%), Abu Dhabi (37%) and Fujairah (34%). While more men than women said they are considering Dubai for their next staycation (49% vs 38%), a higher proportion of women are planning to visit Ras al Khaimah (47% vs 36%).

Focusing on perceptions of the UAE’s amusement parks over the past 12 months, YouGov BrandIndex, the daily brand tracking tool, reveals that Global Village is the top amusement park in the UAE with an Index score of 38.9, followed by Ferrari World Abu Dhabi (27.6) and Yas Waterworld Abu Dhabi (20.6). Ski Dubai, LEGOLAND Dubai, Wild Wadi, LEGOLAND Water Park, IMG Worlds of Adventure, Aquaventure Atlantis and Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi feature among the top 10 amusement facilities.