Determinants of theatre, dance, and art museum attendance in the United Arab Emirates

ABSTRACT

This article investigates the determinants of theatre, dance, and art museum attendance in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) using two analytical techniques. Multivariate probit and censored Poisson models are used to investigate the likelihood of attendance and the frequency of attendance, respectively. The data were collected by Pan Arab Research Centre from 1377 households in Dubai and Abu Dhabi using a computer-aided telephone survey in 2012. The results show that ethnicity and residency dynamics are important determinants of attendance. The expatriate groups, European, American, Indian, and Other Asians, have a higher expected frequency and likelihood of attending dance compared to the UAE nationals, while the expected frequency and likelihood of theatre and dance attendance are lower for Egyptians. Indians and Other Asian groups are less likely to attend theatre and art museum. Longer residency positively influences the frequency and likelihood of attending theatre and dance, while theatre lessons increase the chances and frequency of attending the theatre. Gender, income, and household composition were also found to be important variables. Therefore, changes in residency rules would affect the demand pattern for artistic and cultural goods. Programmes to promote art appreciation such as acting could nurture a lasting interest in the arts.

KEYWORDS:

• Theatre
• dance
• museum
• attendance
• censored Poisson
• multivariate probit

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the team from the Pan Arab Research Centre team who conducted the survey, the respondents who gave their time and the ZUR Incentive Fund for supporting the data collection for this research.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the second author, (O. A.), upon reasonable request.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Steven Buigut is a Professor of Economics at the Canadian University Dubai, School of Business Administration. His research interests include Economics of integration, Tourism economics, and Economics of the Arts. Some of his works can be found in Review of Development Economics, World Development, International Finance, International Journal of Equity in Health, Tourism Economics, South African Journal of Economics, Poetics and Tourism, and Hospitality Research among others.

Odekhiren Amaize (Ode) is a Professor of Advertising and Integrated Marketing Communications at Canadian University Dubai. He is a Fulbright Scholar whose teaching, research, and consulting interests are in media planning, creative advertising, cultural branding, consumer behaviour, and marketing the arts. He is a published and teaching award winning professor and an international concert and recording artist (musicians showcase/Albany Records).

Additional information

Funding

The data collection for this study was funded by Zayed University [grant numbers R11026 and R14113].