Ras Al Khaimah visitor numbers up by 7%

Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (TDA) has revealed that total visitor arrivals to the country between January and July 2016 has increased by seven percent, compared to the same period in 2015, with 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 percent over July 2015 demonstrating increased demand for the emirate.
According to Ras Al Khaimah TDA figures, in addition to the emirate receiving more visitors, the length of stay during the first seven mWonths of this year also increased. Total guest nights grew by 15.2 percent year-on-year, while the average length of stay in the Ras Al Khaimah’s hotels climbed 7.7 percent.
Ras Al Khaimah’s expanding hotel proposition experienced significant increases during the same period with hotel occupancy averaging 70 percent, marking a 15 percent growth on last year. RevPAR grew by 7.6 percent over the same period, with room revenue increasing by 10.6 percent. The key hotel performance indicators continue to show growth well above the GCC average.
Haitham Mattar, CEO, Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority said: “With access to 64 kilometres 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 percent. 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 percent, led by strong growth from Germany (68 percent) and the UK (33.2 percent). Additionally, Europeans are staying longer, with a growth of 38.2 percent in average length of stay to 6.2 days.
Reclaiming its spot as the third largest international market, Russian visitors grew by 3.2 percent over 2015. Indian visitor arrivals grew 20.7 percent over the same period, with Indian guests staying 10.5 percent 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.
“We are reaping the benefits of the strategic initiatives and dynamic marketing campaigns implemented over the last 12 months including the launch of Ras Al Khaimah’s first Tourism Strategy. We have made significant strides in initiating strategic partnerships with airlines and tour operators to support our aim of diversifying source markets across Europe and Asia Pacific. We have also opened new representation offices in India, Russia and the UK to spread destination awareness, with plans to add local representation in China and Saudi Arabia to the network by the end of this year. Our promotional activities in the UAE and GCC have led to high occupancy rates throughout the year as visitors continue to see Ras Al Khaimah as the ideal getaway for staycations, activity, adventure and relaxation,” added Mattar.
“The recent year-to-date results are a clear indication that the efforts undertaken with the support of our global stakeholders have been successful and a strong sign that we are on track to achieve our target of attracting one million visitors by the end of 2018.”