Concerts, staycations, and shared outings have taken over gift lists across the UAE this festive season, as new data from entertainment platform Platinumlist shows a clear majority of residents have shifted toward experience gifts over traditional physical presents.
Experience Gifts Now Dominate UAE Wish Lists
New data from Platinumlist, drawn from more than 500 respondents across the UAE, shows that 74.4 percent of residents now prefer giving or receiving experience-based gifts. The shift reflects a broader change in how people here think about value during the festive season — less about what fits in a box, more about what stays in the memory.
The reasons are direct: 64.1 percent of respondents said they choose experiential gifts because they create lasting memories, while 20.5 percent cited how personal they feel compared to a generic purchase.
Concert Tickets Lead Holiday Gifting in Dubai
Among all experience categories, concert tickets dominate. A full 63 percent of respondents named them as their preferred holiday gift — a figure that tracks with the packed live-event lineups running across Dubai through December. Staycation vouchers came in second at 18.5 percent, followed by luxury brunches (7.4 percent), adventure activities (3.7 percent), family attraction passes (3.7 percent), and spa vouchers (3.7 percent).
Nearly nine in ten UAE residents also said they plan to attend a live event over their next long weekend. And 23.1 percent expressed interest in trying immersive theatre for the first time, while 15.4 percent said cultural or heritage tours appealed to them.
Gen Z Drives the Shift Toward Shared Experiences
The demographic behind much of this trend is young. Under-30s make up around 55 percent of the MENA population, and studies show that 65 percent of Gen Z prefer gifts tied to shared time rather than physical items. For this group, the value of an experience is inseparable from who you share it with.
That mindset is shaping December spending habits across the city. Most residents plan to spend between Dh250 and Dh500 per experiential gift (53.3 percent), while 43.5 percent expect to allocate between Dh500 and Dh1,000.
What This Means for the Holiday Season
Platinumlist CEO Cosmin Ivan noted that live and experiential formats are becoming the top priority in leisure behaviour, expanding steadily across entertainment and hospitality. The company's broader UAE gifting market context puts that growth in perspective — the sector is projected to reach US$19.7 billion by 2033.
Across Dubai this December, the clearest signal of the shift is not in a store but in a conversation: people are talking about plans, not purchases. A concert, a short trip, or a shared afternoon tends to stay with you longer than anything wrapped and placed under a tree — and residents here seem to have decided that is exactly the point.
