Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) is an emirate in the UAE located on the northernmost side of the nation. RAK is a rapidly growing city which is projected to accelerate is pace in panning out its tourism industry. Ras Al Khaimah is one of the world’s most expeditiously growing tourism spot. The emirate is enriched with a layered culture and age-old history, dating back 70 centuries. RAK holds pride in its assortment of ancient archaeological sites, overwhelming natural landscapes, golden sandy beaches. From the exquisite green belt of date palms of Jebel Jais to the unmatched terracotta dunes, Ras Al Khaimah’s luster of tourist destinations is rising parallel to its urbanization.
By launching Jebel Jais Flight, the world’s longest zip line on the belt of Jebel Jais, Ras Al Khaimah successfully added itself on the map of hot tourist destinations. It was a key growth milestone in terms of tourism as the zip line quite extraordinarily broke the world record, embellishing RAK with the well-deserved acknowledgement and greater deal of credibility. It reinforced Ras Al Khaimah’s spot as one of the fastest growing tourist destinations. Another key factor for the emirate’s popularity was through the establishment of a plethora of top-notch world-class events, the increase in foreign and international partnerships with travel and trade through the grand opening of a new wave of overseas offices and series of roadshows all through the year.
Acknowledging the fact that the Emirate indeed has a great deal of potential within its tourism sector, RAS has harnessed its existing beauty and on Tuesday, December 18, launched a new 3-year tourism development strategy through its tourism regulatory body, Ras Al Khaimah's Tourism Development Authority (RAKTDA). The strategy aims at branching out the Emirate's array of tourism offering in order to widen its reach to attract more segments of tourists. Titled the "Destination Strategy 2019-2021", the strategy focuses on increasing the average annual number of tourists and visitors by providing genuine and credible experiences. Subsequently, a higher yield of tourists will result in a calculative increase in local and foreign investment in the tourism sector of the Emirate. The strategy will also focus on the nourishment, rejuvenation and nurture of small and medium sized local enterprises in order to accelerate job creation and employment rate in addition to boosting business opportunities. It prioritizes sustainable nature-based adventure and culture driven activities and experiences.
Key Highlights of the RAK Development Strategy 2019-2021
- The strategy aims at amplifying the employment rate in the tourism and hospitality sector by addition of 10,000 more job vacancies being created.
- Ras Al Khaimah is projected to add 5,000 more rooms to the already available 6,500 number in the Emirate with the introduction of major global players in the industry such as, Marriott, Anantara, Sheraton, Rezidor, Movenpick, International and Conrad over the course of the next 3 years in an effort to increase the popularity of the Emirate among international and domestic tourists.
- By the end of 2021, Ras Al Khaimah aspires to draw about 1.5 million visitors and 3 million visitors by 2025.
- “As our tourism offering evolves in Ras Al Khaimah, we must ensure our destination is attractive to travellers who wish to explore beyond the resorts and hotels, with the new destination strategy we aim to diversify and enhance visitors’ experiences through differentiated product development”, Haitham Mattar, RAKTDA CEO, has quoted.
- The strategy will pick up the pace of foreign and local investments within the tourism sector, foster local small and medium enterprises to create employment and business opportunities for the citizens of RAK.
- The strategy will focus on prioritising sustainable nature-based adventure and culture driven activities and experiences.
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