ATTN: News Editor / Features Editor FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Valentine’s Day yet to feel the financial pinch,

reveals Maktoob Research Survey

Majority of survey respondents say they are in no mood to thrift when

it comes to showering gifts on their loved ones although questions
are raised as to whether Muslims should really be celebrating the day

Dubai - UAE February 12, 2009:- If you thought this year’s Valentine’s Day would be a
relatively subdued affair for most given the testing times, think again.

Maktoob Research’s third annual Valentine’s Survey has revealed that men and women
in the Arab world have no qualms when it comes to digging into their pockets to express
their love for that special someone in their life, economic downturn or no economic
downturn.

Even as a significant number of respondents remained undecided as to whether they

indeed would spend on gifts this Valentine’s, 27% said they were willing to spend $50
and below on gifts for their loved ones, while 15% percent were willing to spend $50 –
$100. 6% of respondents said they would spend between $100 and $150 on their
sweethearts, while 8% were willing to spend in excess of $150, with only a mere 4%
saying they did not intend to spend on gifts.

The survey was conducted from February 2nd to 8th among Arabs of different nationalities
who are either married or involved in a serious relationship, and canvassed the opinions
of 3156 respondents aged between 18 and 35 in twelve countries across the GCC,
Levant and North Africa.
In one of the survey’s interesting findings, gifts (19%) topped the list of presents to be
given to loved ones, followed by flowers (15%), romantic phone calls (11%), Valentine’s
cards (11%) and a dinner date (9%). However, flowers (15%) ranked just ahead of gifts
(14%) when it came to respondents’ wish lists, followed by romantic phone calls (12%)
and dinner date (10%).

Other interesting findings of the survey include:

o 76% of respondents consider themselves to be romantic

o 60% of respondents said they will most definitely do something special for their
loved one this Valentine’s

o 61% of respondents claim to have never celebrated Valentine’s Day before;

among those who have, 20% said they celebrate the day every year, while 23%
said they have celebrated the day only once before.

o A significant majority of female respondents preferred giving gifts to their

partners, while male respondents opted mostly to give jewellery or take their
partners on a dinner date or on a romantic trip.

o Mystery is sure to be a big part of this Valentine’s Day as 80% of respondents are
sure that their partners do not know what they are hoping to receive. Similarly,
84% of respondents are planning surprises for their partners without having
asked them what they want.

o 43% feel Valentine’s Day has become too commercial, while 40% believe the day
is meant only for romantic people.

o 40% of respondents feel Muslims should not celebrate Valentine’s Day, while
45% believe celebrating the day goes against their religious beliefs; interestingly,
an overwhelming majority of those who held both views were male.
 o 35% of the respondents believe Valentine’s Day is meant only for the Western
world, while 27% feel the day only holds significance for non-religious people.

“The results of the survey indicate that traditional gifts and simple expressions of love
are still very much in vogue among people in the Arab world and that money is no bar
when it comes to matters of the heart,” said Tamara Deprez, General Manager of
Maktoob Research. “Having said that, it is significant to observe that a not
inconsiderable number of respondents find Valentine’s Day a Western import that
conflicts with their religious beliefs.”

For more information regarding the products and services of Maktoob Research, please
contact Tamara Deprez (tel: +971 4 3602796 or info@maktoob-research.com), or visit the
website www.maktoob-research.com.

About Maktoob Research:

Maktoob Research, a Maktoob.com entity, offers access to the largest active consumer panel in the
Middle East and North Africa. It boasts a team of experienced and highly skilled professionals who are
members of ESOMAR, MRA and MRS. Maktoob Research guarantees delivery of high-quality, super-fast
quantitative research projects at highly competitive rates.

Maktoob Research can target its panel members by demographics, such as age, gender and occupation
among others, which makes it possible to target specific areas, a survey targeted at students for
example. Key behavioural patterns are available too.

Maktoob Research not only provides full project support to its clients via survey programming,
translations and hosting, but also a complete research package, including consultancy. Research Portal
can be made available - an online tool for real-time analysis. During an on-going research, research data
will be available 24/7.

For further media information, please contact:

Sue-Ellen Lazrado
Headline Public Relations
Tel: 009714 – 2289655
Email: sue@headlinepr.com