São Paulo – The emirate of Ras Al Khaimah welcomed 1.12 million visitors in 2019, up 4% from a year ago, Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority reported. The emirate’s tourism body has announced it’s s targeting 1.5 million visitors by 2021.
The emirate’s annual occupancy rates averaged 74% and revenue per available room (RevPAR) stood at USD 114.90, among the highest in the region.
The report says that the increase in the number of visitors was due to a range of activities launched by the emirate, including the world’s longest zip-line on Jebel Jais mountain, an arts festival, the Ras Al Khaimah half marathon, and others.
The Authority participated in 20 tourism exhibitions and conducted 34 promotional trips in 16 countries, in addition to organizing 63 workshops in 12 countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Russia, Scandinavia, the Commonwealth of Independent States (which encompasses the former members of the Soviet Union) and other countries in Central and Eastern Europe.
The number of visitors from Russia, India, Kazakhstan and Poland increased by over 10% each year-on-year. Russia was up 13%, India 10.5%, Kazakhstan 15%, and Poland 14%.
Tourism Authority CEO Raki Phillips was quoted as saying in a press release that the emirate achieved positive results in 2019, witnessing an increase of nearly 4% in terms of number of visitors from key markets.
He added that the emirate is implementing a three-year strategy which aims to attract a wider segment of tourists and visitors and focuses on visitors with high-added value, such as those who attend events, conferences and exhibitions.
Ras Al Khaimah is preparing to add 6,200 rooms to the 6,499 currently available over the next three years.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
