Cautious, not hostile
Views of the UAE remain stable across all audiences.
New ResearchIn partnership with AnyMind
UAE Sentiment Study 2026
Conflict Impact & Recovery Trends
A timely assessment of how travellers, businesses and residents are responding to regional disruption—and what will drive confidence recovery for the UAE.
1,274
Interviews
7th – 15th
August 2026
UAE + India
Fielded
4
Audience Groups
Primary Research • Real-time Sentiment • Cross-sector Insights
The Big Story
Perceptions are holding. Behaviour is shifting.
People are not rejecting the UAE. They are responding to uncertainty.
Experience-led concern
92–99% of concern is driven by personal, operational experiences.
Recovery will take time
54–75% expect recovery to take over a year.
Travel is being cut back
82% of businesses have cut business travel.
Confidence can rebound
Business confidence expected to rise from 3.3 today to 7.9 in 12 months.
Residents are the asset
Most informed. Most confident. Most optimistic.
Audience Snapshot
Flyers & Aviation
- • 47% comfortable flying to the UAE
- • 49% have cancelled a trip
- • 66.4% want normal airspace operations
Reliability > Price
Leisure Travellers
- • 53% have cancelled a UAE trip
- • 50.6% fear being stranded
- • Intent recovers to 8.2/10 in 2 years
It's friction, not fear
Business Community
- • 82.2% have cut business travel
- • 50.3% have deferred investment
- • Confidence today 3.3/10 → 7.9/10 in 12m
Deferring, not abandoning
Residents & Nationals
- • 70.3% confident in safety
- • 79.1% confident in recovery
- • 65% use official UAE information sources
Information builds confidence
UAE Associations Today
56%
Positive
Broad, multi-dimensional equity remains strong
42%Negative
Concentrated around conflict & news
2%Neutral
Top Positive Associations
- Tourism & Leisure (27.3%)
- Luxury & Wealth (17.7%)
- Architecture & Modernity (17.7%)
- Business & Opportunity (13.8%)
- Culture & People (12.5%)
- Safety & Connectivity (10.8%)
Top Negative Associations
- Conflict & News (88.9%)
- Heat & Climate (5.1%)
- Strict Laws (3.7%)
- Cost of Living (2.3%)
“
One issue is dominating the conversation. It has not rewritten the UAE story.
The full story goes deeper.
Go beyond the headlines with detailed audience insights, recovery outlooks and strategic implications for tourism, aviation, business and brand recovery.