Around 8 percent of British travellers believe it is compulsory to leave a tip for waiting staff as part of a bill at a restaurant in Dubai, with an average of AED17.84 (£3.82) seen as reasonable on a meal valued at around £30, according to a survey released late last week.
Travel portal Big Domain surveyed British travellers’ perceptions of tipping culture in a number of popular global tourist locations.
While 41.3 percent of respondents said they thought of it was compulsory to tip waiting staff in a restaurant in the United States, this fell to around 8 percent in relation to Dubai, with 10 percent saying they would never tip in a restaurant in the emirate.
When asked how much of a tip they would expect on average for a meal worth £30 ($38.13), respondents said an average of AED17.84 ($4.85) in Dubai was acceptable, compared to $6.80 in the US, €3.42 ($3.83) in Spain and AUS$5.45 ($2.36) in Australia.
On its official website, Visit Dubai outlines a guide to tipping in Dubai for travellers: “The short answer is, there are no rules when it comes to tipping in Dubai. How much you tip varies from profession to profession and is also largely down to personal preference. It is customary to tip in most cases, but it certainly isn’t compulsory,” it says.
At restaurants, a service charge of 10 percent is typically added as part of the bill, but Visit Dubai says “a figure between 10 and 15 percent is customary, but this is dependent on the quality of service. Often rounding up to the nearest figure in your bill could suffice”.
For taxi drivers, hotel and supermarket bag packing staff, the website recommends “a small tip of AED5-10… but generally passengers will just round the fare up to the nearest note and allow the driver to keep the change”.
A survey of 250 UAE resident in 2017 by online portal ServiceMarket found that 49 percent of respondents said they always tip.
As part of its study, Big Domain looked at how much was appropriate to tip in different countries to various different employees a visitor may come into contact with while travelling:
Hotel porter:
Dubai: AED5-10 ($1.36 – $2.72)Spain: €1 ($1.12) per nightCroatia: 15 to 20 KN ($2.26 – $3.01)Cyprus: €1 ($1.12) per bagUSA: $2 – $3 per bagGreece: €1 – €2 ($1.12 – $2.24)Italy: €5 ($5.60)Thailand: 20 Baht ($0.62) per bagPortugal: €1 – €2 ($1.12 – $2.24) per bagAustralia: AUS$1-2 ($0.69 – $1.38)
Hotel maid:
Dubai: AED20-30 ($5.44 – $8.16) for total staySpain: €1 – €5 ($1.12 – $5.60) per nightCroatia: 15 to 20 Kuna ($2.26 – $3.01)Cyprus: €1 – €2 ($1.12 – $2.24) per nightUSA: $2 – $5 per nightGreece: €1 ($1.12 – $5.60) per nightItaly: €0.50 – €1.50 ($0.56 – $1.68) per dayThailand: 50 Baht ($1.57) per nightPortugal: €1 ($1.12) per nightAustralia: AUS$5 ($3.46) for total stay
Taxi driver:
Dubai: Round up to nearest AED5 ($1.36)Spain: 5% of fareCroatia: Round up to nearest KunaCyprus: Round up to nearest EuroUSA: 15-20% of fareGreece: 5-10% of fareItaly: Round up to nearest EuroThailand: Round up to nearest BahtPortugal: 10% of fareAustralia: Round up to nearest AUS$
Bar staff:
Dubai: Not generally expectedSpain: €0.20 ($0.22) per drinkCroatia: Round up to nearest KunaCyprus: Not generally expectedUSA: $1 per drinkGreece: Round up to nearest EuroItaly: Round up to nearest EuroThailand: Round up to nearest BahtPortugal: Round up to nearest EuroAustralia: Not generally expected
Tour guide:
Dubai: Not generally expectedSpain: €5 ($5.60) for half day, €10 ($11.20) for full dayCroatia: 10-15 Kuna ($1.50 – $2.26) per personCyprus: 10% of the tour priceUSA: 10-15% of the tour priceGreece: €2 – €5 ($2.24 – $5.60) per person per tourItaly: €5 ($5.60) for half day or €10 ($11.20) for full dayThailand: 150 Baht ($4.71) for half day or 300 Baht ($9.42) for full dayPortugal: €5 ($5.60) for half day or €10 ($11.20) for full dayAustralia: AUS$10 ($6.92) per couple
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