Ras Al Khaimah visitors up 7%

The domestic UAE market continues to represent Ras Al Khaimah's largest source market, representing over a third of all visitor arrivals year-to-date.

Total visitor arrivals to Ras Al Khaimah between January and July 2016 increased by seven per cent, compared to the same period in 2015, the Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAK TDA) has revealed.
The authority, which develops the emirate's tourism infrastructure and oversees its domestic and overseas promotions, also revealed that there are further indicators foretelling another successful year for the region's fastest growing tourism destination. For the month of July 2016, the hotel occupancy for Ras Al Khaimah's hotels grew by 36.7 per cent over July 2015 demonstrating increased demand for the emirate.
In addition to the emirate receiving more visitors, the length of stay during the first seven months of this year also increased. Total guest nights grew by 15.2 per cent year-on-year, while the average length of stay in the Ras Al Khaimah's hotels climbed 7.7 per cent.
Ras Al Khaimah's expanding hotel proposition experienced significant increases during the same period with hotel occupancy averaging 70 per cent, marking a 15 per cent growth on last year. Revenue per available room (RevPAR) grew by 7.6 per cent over the same period, with room revenue increasing by 10.6 per cent. The key hotel performance indicators continue to show growth well above the GCC average.
Haitham Mattar, CEO of the RAK TDA, said: "With access to 64km of pristine beaches, a unique terracotta desert and the highest mountain in the UAE located just 45 minutes from Dubai International Airport, Ras Al Khaimah's hotels and resorts continue to grow from strength to strength. Our focus this year has been to heavily promote our new brand positioning which emphasises Ras Al Khaimah's natural assets, luxurious indulgence, range of activities for different types of travellers, history and culture, and authentic Arabian heritage offering."
The domestic UAE market continues to represent Ras Al Khaimah's largest source market representing over a third of all visitor arrivals year-to-date, while visitors from the GCC markets grew by 3.8 per cent. Ras Al Khaimah's core international markets of Germany, UK, Russia, and India continue to grow. Compared to last year, tourism from Europe to Ras Al Khaimah has grown by 45 per cent, led by strong growth from Germany at 68 per cent and the UK at 33.2 per cent. Additionally, Europeans are staying longer, with a growth of 38.2 per cent in average length of stay to 6.2 days.
Reclaiming its spot as the third largest international market, Russian visitors grew by 3.2 per cent over 2015. Indian visitor arrivals grew 20.7 per cent over the same period, with Indian guests staying 10.5 per cent longer than they did last year. Ras Al Khaimah is also witnessing rapid growth from emerging markets such as Scandinavia, Kazakhstan, Czech Republic, and Poland.
Ras Al Khaimah currently offers more than 5,000 hotel rooms across 41 properties, with more than 3,000 rooms in the pipeline across 12 properties by 2019. Hotel capacity is expected to increase to 20,000 rooms by 2025. Many of these will be on Al Marjan Island, a stunning archipelago spanning 2.7 million square metres and extending 4.5km into the crystal blue Arabian Gulf.
- rohma@khaleejtimes.com