“Umm Al Quwain is undergoing a change in roads infrastructure as new flyovers are being built, which will help to connect the emirate and its port with the major highways,” explained Rajan Harikrishnan, manager, Barracuda Beach Resort.
Bolstered connectivity with the other emirates is poised to bring more visitors into this often overlooked seaside destination, but what is really expected to boost visibility internationally and showcase the destination’s offerings to a global audience is the recent launch of Google Street View in the emirate.
Potential visitors and all interested parties can now access a 360-degree imagery of major streets across the emirate, as well as its key attractions such as the Beach Garden, the Old Town Area, Umm Al Quwain National Museum and the abandoned Soviet-era plane, Ilyushin IL-76.
“Street View, as a feature of Google Maps, has a variety of practical uses for visitors, local businesses, residents and students. It can help tourists make better informed hotel bookings, or give a new restaurant the chance to showcase its location which can help it connect with potential customers,” explained Joyce Baz, head of communications, MENA, Google.
“Wherever we have launched Street View, we have seen a positive response, and we believe that people and businesses in the UAE and across the world can benefit on many levels from having this imagery available,” she further enthused, reminding that Google Maps services enjoy more than one billion active monthly users.
REJUVENATING TOUCHES
In addition to strengthening its online presence and visibility, the emirate’s hotel accommodation portfolio is also being upgraded to better cater to tourists. Notable works are being done at Barracuda Beach Resort, as Harikrishnan revealed.
The property is in the process of renovating its rooms to meet and exceed the expectations of guests, as he shared, reminding that the resort is one of the few in the city to implement the HACCP standard which, as Harikrishnan said, ensures that quality of food and hygiene is in accordance with government norms and to the full satisfaction of guests.
As the emirate proceeds to strengthen its tourism credentials, the outlook is bright, as it is confirmed by the revived business performance since the beginning of the year.
“Business picked up slowly in the beginning of [this year] and we see a gradual shift in the spending of people, which is in favour of our resort and tourism industry as a whole,” Harikrishnan concluded.
