Tag Archives: Mario Hardy

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) has welcomed the Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (TDA) as its newest government member. The TDA’s aim is to establish the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah as a destination for leisure and adventure travel whilst maintaining its appeal for sun seekers, beach loving couples and families. Ras Al Khaimah TDA was established in May 2011 to develop the emirate’s tourism infrastructure and promote it, both domestically and abroad. In order to achieve its goals, the Ras Al Khaimah TDA has a Government mandate to license, regulate and monitor the emirate’s hospitality industry. It conducts research to identify tourism projects and current trends. Ras Al Khaimah TDA leads on the destination’s branding and subsequent marketing activities, and also develops and implements strategies designed to encourage tourism investment into the emirate. PATA CEO Mario Hardy said, “As our newest government member Ras Al Khaimah now has a much better opportunity to achieve their growth target of 2.9m visitors by 2025 by connecting with many of our members and by showcasing their destination to a much broader audience.” Haitham Mattar, CEO, Ras Al Khaimah TDA, said, “As we continue to work towards our goal of attracting one million visitors by the end of 2018, we are keen to establish partnerships that will enable us to achieve sustainable tourism growth. Asia Pacific, in particular India and China, are fast growing emerging markets where we have recently signed an agreement with Ctrip, China’s largest online travel agency, as well as Cox and Kings in India.”

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