Ras
Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAKTDA) announces its highest visitor
numbers since the onset of Covid-19, with the Emirate reporting visitor arrival
numbers in line with pre-pandemic footfall across the first six months of 2022.
The
impressive H1 performance saw the Emirate welcome over 521,085 international
and domestic visitors between January and June 2022, a total increase of +21%
vs H1 2021 and a return to pre-pandemic figures from YTD June 2019.
Enhanced
tourism and hospitality offering
The
Emirate’s strong performance in 2022 was bolstered by the opening of several
new hotels and resorts, including Radisson Resort Ras Al Khaimah on Marjan
Island, the InterContinental Mina Al Arab, the first InterContinental Hotels
Group property in the Emirate, and most recently, the debut of Mövenpick at Al
Marjan Island, located on a 300-metre stretch of golden shoreline and home to
the largest floating water park in Ras Al Khaimah. The Emirate now boasts over
8,000 keys, with 4,617 new keys in the pipeline over the next few years.
Celebrated
for its outstanding nature, adventurous leisure, and authentic offerings, Ras
Al Khaimah has quickly become one of the most sought-after sustainable
destinations in the Middle East, most recently being included in Time
magazine's World's Greatest Places of 2022. The annual list, which features 50
must-visit global destinations, highlighted Ras Al Khaimah for its adventure
offerings and stunning, unique topography and geodiversity. In recognition of
the Emirate’s incredible natural surroundings, the Authority has continued its
development of sustainable new attractions to draw visitors both locally and
internationally. A key new attraction to open was the Jais Sledder, the
region’s longest toboggan ride, spanning over 1,840 exhilarating metres of
hairpin curves and reaching speeds of up to 40 kilometres per hour. Jais
Sledder has welcomed over 54,000 visitors since opening in February.
Commenting
on the fast rebound of tourism in the Emirate, Raki Phillips, CEO of Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development
Authority, said: “Ras
A Khaimah is one of the first destinations in the region to recover to
pre-Covid levels thanks to the agility of our tourism community during the
pandemic. This is all the more remarkable given the current economic and
geo-political landscape in which we operate that drives our focus on what's
important for long term resilience - diversification, community and
sustainability. Our investment strategy, which focuses on exactly that, has
been central to our fast rebound. We are on track to reach more than 1.11
million arrivals by the end of the year and to fully return to pre-pandemic
levels in just two years.”
Balanced
Tourism
Underpinning
Ras Al Khaimah’s return to above pre-pandemic visitor numbers is the
Authority’s commitment to building a sustainable destination. Announced at the
2022 Arabian Travel Market, Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority has
adopted a bold new approach to sustainability – Balanced Tourism – marking a key milestone in
its strategy to drive overall growth and become the regional leader in
sustainable tourism by 2025.
The
Authority is committed to shaping tourism in the UAE by placing all aspects of
sustainability at the centre of its investment and development strategy to
create a destination that will resonate with today’s responsible traveller.
As such, it
unveiled a Tourism Business Accreditation Program that will also provide a
management framework to help individual businesses grow their sustainability
efforts as a means of benchmarking their performance. It is anticipated that
over 30 businesses will receive tourism certifications in the first year of the
program. Additionally, the Authority launched the Destination Certification
Program which provides a firm basis for action on sustainable management. The
Objective is to obtain the “Sustainable Tourism Destination” certificate for
Ras Al Khaimah in 2023, which is internationally recognized.
Driving
further growth for 2022 and beyond
With the
ambition to further drive visitor numbers for the duration of 2022, the
Authority has recently announced a series of strategic partnerships with
airlines and leading tour operators to target emerging and growing source
markets. This includes the introduction of new direct flight routes, with the
Emirate set to welcome several new weekly flights from major cities in Germany,
including Frankfurt, Dusseldorf and Munich. To further boost connectivity, the
Authority is developing the Emirate’s burgeoning cruise sector, with the aim of
attracting 50 cruise ship calls each season, and over 10,000 passengers within
the next few years.
Additionally
announced at the beginning of 2022 was the multibillion-dollar integrated
resort development with Wynn Resorts. Scheduled to open in 2026, the
multipurpose integrated resort marks the largest-of-its-kind foreign direct
investment in Ras Al Khaimah. The resort will be home to more than 1,000 rooms,
shopping, meeting and convention facilities, spa, more than 10 restaurants and
lounges, extensive entertainment choices, and a gaming area, set to further
boost visitor numbers in the coming years.
World-class
events pipeline
Ras Al
Khaimah Tourism Development Authority is further focusing on promoting the
Emirate as a leading sporting and MICE destination in the Gulf to boost
tourism, announcing a number of strategic event partnerships secured in the
first half of 2022. With a strong track record of successfully staging
international sporting events, such as the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon – the
world’s fastest half marathon which attracts more than 5,000 participants a
year – the Emirate was recently selected by The World Minifootball Federation
(WMF) to stage its biennial international football competition. A mega international
football competition held every two years, the 2023 Minifootball World Cup will
further attract thousands of spectators and fans from around the globe to
experience the Emirates unique tourism and hospitality offering.
“Already
one of the fastest growing destinations in the region, the first half of 2022
has set us off on a very strong trajectory for the year. It is great to see the
strategic investments made by the Authority throughout a very challenging
period yield such strong results,” concluded Phillips. “As Ras Al Khaimah continues to expand
its tourism, we expect to go from strength to strength, inviting more visitors
from around the world to discover our stunning nature Emirate.”
To find out more about the wealth of
experiences in Ras Al Khaimah, please visit visitrasalkhaimah.com or visitjebeljais.com and or check out the Emirate’s social
platforms Instagram, YouTube
and Facebook.
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