February 1, 2012

The 2011 visitors to Ras Al Khaimah came from various source markets including Russia, the United Kingdom, Italy, Austria and Switzerland, with Germany, as its strongest source market experiencing 200% growth compared to 2010 figures with more than 300,000 visitors followed by the UAE generating more than 200,000 visitors with a growth of 100% compared to last year. With regards to hotel occupancy, overall, Ras Al Khaimah hotels, including the Beach Resorts and City Hotels performed very well in 2011, showing impressive growth in all key areas with 8.62% for the Beach Resorts and 1.92% for City Hotels. Revenue per Available Room (RevPar) improved by 24.50% for the Beach Resorts and 10.24% for the City Hotels, resulting in total hotel revenue increasing to almost AED 400 million (U$108 million), which translates as an increase of 37.61% compared to 2010 figures. Commenting on the impressive figures, Victor Louis, Chief Operating Officer, Ras Al Khaimah TDA said: “Ras Al Khaimah TDA was established in May 2011 and by the end of 2011 we have exceeded our target of welcoming 800,000 visitors to the rising emirate of Ras Al Khaimah. This has been achieved due to the joint cooperation of our travel partners both within Ras Al Khaimah and beyond, and is testimony to Ras Al Khaimah’s viability and attractiveness as a tourist and tourism investment destination”. Since the establishment of the Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority in May 2011, and following the vision and guidelines laid down by His Highness Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, the authority has rebranded the rising emirate as a premier affordable luxury destination for leisure, adventure and business travel, offering a diverse landscape, rich heritage and a temperate climate. In addition to a robust marketing and promotional programme implemented within the UAE and GCC (The Cooperation Council For ther Arab States of the Gulf), special attention has also been given to specific European markets, from which charter flights direct to Ras Al Khaimah have been launched and marketing and promotional campaigns enacted. Louis comments: “With new attractions, hotels and resorts including the 349-room Waldorf Astoria Ras Al Khaimah luxury brand property, and the 640-room resort Bab Al Bahr both scheduled to open in Q4 2012, as well as continuing the charter flights from European destinations, our goal of welcoming 1.2 million visitors by 2013 and reaching the hotel room inventory of 10,000 rooms by 2016 is on track and will be achieved in the rising emirate of Ras Al Khaimah.”