Emirate eyes new long-term tourism target as international visitors soar by 11% in first nine months of 2018
Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAKTDA) has announced a growth of 11.2 percent in international guests in the first nine months of the year compared to the same period in 2017.
Almost 795,000 guests chose to stay in Ras Al Khaimah from January to September 2018 for a total of 2.53 million guest nights, it said in a statement.
Double digit growth from international markets was led by Germany as the single largest source market with 64,372 visitors, up 4.1 percent, followed by Russia, with 57,117 visitors - up 36.5 percent, and the UK, with 45,496 visitors, up 10.1 percent.
India was in fourth position with 44,734 visitors, up 16.1 percent while Kazakhstan rounded out the top five source markets with 21,966 visitors, up 26.9 percent.
In terms of market growth, Norway saw the largest percentage increase in visitors, up 41.5 percent on the first three quarters of 2017, with Nordic neighbours Sweden and Denmark also showing increased interest in the emirate.
Average length of stay was 3.19 days while the emirate recorded the second highest revenue per available room (RevPAR) at AED402.2 ($109.6), the third highest daily room rate (ADR) at AED581.6 and 69.1 percent occupancy.
Haitham Mattar, CEO of Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority said: “We are confident of meeting our 2018 visitor targets. In fact, we are preparing to launch our New Destination Strategy in Q4 and we’re targeting further growth – with a goal of attracting three million visitors by 2025. "We will achieve this by investing heavily in developing our attractions and adventure offerings, combined with bringing the world’s best luxury hotel experiences to Ras Al Khaimah.”
One of Ras Al Khaimah’s key growth milestones in 2018 was the launch of Jebel Jais Flight, the world’s longest zipline on Jebel Jais, the highest mountain in the UAE, he added.
He said Ras Al Khaimah has also identified supply of new hotel rooms as a major focus to support the increasing popularity of the destination. The emirate is preparing to add 5,000 rooms to the 6,500 currently available with the confirmed introduction of major global brands including Marriott, Movenpick, Sheraton, Anantara, Rezidor, Intercontinental, Hampton by Hilton over the next three years.
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