THE EMIRATE TO CREATE A DISTINCTIVE DESTINATION IMAGE.

Following a historic year in 2014, when guest nights climbed a whopping 72 percent year-on-year to 2.14 million and total revenue rose 44 percent, in 2015, the emirate once again lived up to its title as one of the fastest-growing destinations in the region with arrivals estimated to have jumped 6.8 percent.

“Ras Al Khaimah has seen a significant increase in visitors over the past few years, with 2015 being no exception,” claimed Haitham Mattar, CEO, Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (TDA), further disclosing that both existing and emerging markets continue to deliver strong results with the UAE, the UK, Germany, India and Russia being the top performers.

Mattar referred to STR Global’s statistics which showed an 8.8 percent rise in occupancy levels between January and November 2015, demonstrating the emirate’s growing popularity.

Taking into consideration the current annual growth rate and the leadership’s ambitions, by 2018, one million travellers are expected to make their way to Ras Al Khaimah, further increasing tourism’s contribution to the emirate’s GDP, which currently stands around 2.5 percent.

“Business in 2015 significantly grew as compared to 2014, with new markets entering the destination,” reaffirmed Rabih Abou Mrad, general manager, Golden Tulip Khatt Springs Resort & Spa.

A similar trend was reported by Sami Kaplanci, general manager, Rixos Bab Al Bahr, who revealed a 20 percent increase in room nights and occupancy over 2014.

“The tourism market in Ras Al Khaimah is dynamic and is constantly changing and developing,” attested Kaplanci, attributing the continuous growth in figures partly to the greater number of airlines operating to Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) International Airport.
“Travelling to the emirate has never been easier,” he claimed.

In fact, as Mattar disclosed, some 7,100 seats per week are being offered in and out of Ras Al Khaimah by Air Arabia alone, and a total of 425,000 seats per annum by all the airlines flying to the destination. As of February 2, Ras Al Khaimah will be connected to more than 170 destinations across the globe, supporting the tourism body’s ambition to reach out to a wider pool of potential visitors.

As Mattar explained, a key objective for the authority is to diversify sources. While a firm focus remains on the core markets, including Western Europe, UAE, India and Russia, the organisation is also keen on penetrating China, other GCC countries, Eastern Europe and Scandinavia.

To this end, Ras Al Khaimah TDA recently signed agreements with two charter flight companies to operate services to the emirate.

From October 2015 up until May, Sun Express, owned by German tour operator FTI would fly some 40,000 holiday-makers to Ras Al Khaimah on eight services per week, while Itaka Travel Agency from Poland is expected to transport 20,000 travellers on one weekly flight.

In addition, as Mattar pinpointed, Qatar Airways will now also operate daily services to the emirate, connecting Ras Al Khaimah with a plethora of key markets via Doha.

“We plan to further expand our routes and partnerships within the public and private sectors in the coming years,” pledged Mattar.