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 Vale

ntine’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.”