DESTINATION REPORT / RAK
Louis adds that international groups looking US$2.7
million to be spent on RAK
International Airport
expansion programme
to explore the emirate’s meeting offerings will also find it convenient due to the UAE’s increased flight connectivity. Aside from Ras Al Khaimah International Airport – which caters for chartered regional and international flights and scheduled operations from national carrier RAK Airways – overseas-based visitors can access the destination via international airlines flying through both Dubai International Airport and Sharjah International Airport.
AFFORDABLE LUXURY Over the past year, RAK TDA has been promoting Ras Al Khaimah as an affordable luxury destination. As a result, the authority has experienced an increased demand for hotel rooms from international tour operators. “The affordability of luxury experiences, combined
with the emirate’s proximity and accessibility from Dubai, are both key to our positioning and provide unique selling points for meetings, events and incentive travel markets, both domestically and internationally,” says Louis. Ras Al Khaimah’s impressive desert landscape
offers a multitude of outdoor activities from mountain climbing and biking to kayaking and fishing, ideal for corporate team-building exercises. “Combined with the relaxing and idyllic views of
Below:
Ras Al Khaimah shoreline
Below right: Beach massage at The Cove Rotana Resort – Ras Al Khaimah
white sandy beaches, as well as resorts that offer world- class spas and an eclectic selection of international gourmet experiences, Ras Al Khaimah proves an exciting and affordable addition to any incentive itinerary, whether as a standalone destination or in combination with experiences in other emirates,” he says.
FLIGHT CONNECTIVITY
Ras Al Khaimah is serviced by RAK Airways, which flies to Doha (Qatar), Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), Cairo (Egypt), Dhaka, Chittagong (Bangladesh), Kathmandu (Nepal), Peshawar, Lahore (Pakistan) and Calicut (India). To complement the national carrier’s international operations and to reach out to major source markets in Europe, the Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAK TDA) signed chartered flight agreements with German tour operator Reise Service Deutschland and Swedish tour operator Apollo in 2011.
Victor Louis, Chief Operating Officer of RAK TDA, says the chartered services have been extremely successful, bringing additional hotel revenue of AED139 million (US$37.82 mil- lion) in the fourth quarter of 2011, an increase of nearly 40 percent compared to the same period in 2010.
Germany’s Reise Service Deutschland operated six chartered flights a week between September 2011 and June 2012, covering the cities of Hamburg, Frankfurt, Dusseldorf, Berlin, Munich and the Austrian capital Vienna. This brought 50,000 visitors to the emirate.
Between November 2011 and February 2012 Sweden’s Apollo, which is part of Swiss luxury travel company Kouni Group, offered flights between Scandinavia and Ras Al Khaimah, bringing a further 10,000 visitors.
Louis mentioned that more chartered flights from different European cities are being finalised and will be launched in the winter season of 2012/2013. Likewise, to accommodate an expected visitor influx, the RAK International Airport is currently undergoing a AED99.23 million (US$27 million) expansion programme that will increase its capacity to two million passengers per year in the next 12 to 18 months. The development is expected to facilitate more direct flights to the destination.
DIARY DATE
Ramadan expected to begin 20 July 2012, depending on the sighting of the moon. In Ramadan, during the Muslim holy month of fasting, work hours are reduced and there is no consumption of food or water, or smoking in public during daylight hours.
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