The UAE’s first gaming resort is expected to boost visits to Ras Al Khaimah and attract travellers previously unaware of the emirate's offerings, but that is only a part of a much wider tourism strategy.
The $5.1 billion Wynn Al Marjan Island resort in Ras Al Khaimah secured the country's first gaming licence from UAE authorities last year.
“When you think about Wynn, it is arguably one of the best luxury integrated resorts in the world. And to have that type of brand coming to a destination like ours is something that I think will end up being a great new contributor to the tourism ecosystem," Raki Phillips, chief executive of Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority, said.
But it is only one of a number of plans, he added.
“The Wynn will definitely contribute towards tourism but just like many other things that have come to the UAE, [such as] the Expo that was an incredible driver … I genuinely believe that all of our hotels, when they open, will give a new contribution, same with our attractions,” Mr Phillips told The National on the sidelines of the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai.
The resort will have 1,530 rooms, 22 restaurants, a nightclub, salon, spa, designer boutiques, an events centre, several pools and a marina.
It will “create a tremendous amount of interest in Ras Al Khaimah”, said Michael Weaver, chief communications officer at Wynn Resorts.
“It will get people considering Ras Al Khaimah as a destination who perhaps wouldn't have considered it before, because they wouldn't have been made aware of it.
"And when they look in and see Al Marjan Island [and all the new hotels coming up there], it's going to be remarkable. There really aren't that many other places where you'll have that collection of hotels, restaurants and integrated destination resort all within walking distance.”
But the gaming floor will be only one amenity of many, he said.
“Gaming gets a lot overemphasised and I think that's because it takes up so much physical space, because of the scale of it, but that does not necessarily equate to the importance of it,” Mr Weaver told The National.
“When people go to destination resorts, they go to experience all of those amenities, so gaming may take up the largest space, it may be a defining characteristic, but it is not the most important characteristic. What's important is the cumulative guest experience of all the amenities together.”
Gambling remains prohibited in the Emirates, as it is across the Gulf, but the UAE set up the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority to oversee and supervise commercial "gaming activities". These include lotteries, internet gaming, sports betting and integrated gaming centres or resorts.
The word "gaming" is also used by the equivalent authorities in the US.
Calling all travellers
Ras Al Khaimah, which recorded 1.28 million overnight visitors last year, aims to boost that figure to 3.5 million by 2030.
As part of the strategy, the emirate is expanding its hospitality portfolio, which stood at about 55 hotels and resorts, with 8,211 rooms, as of March. The number of rooms in the emirate is set to double in the next few years, with more than 7,500 rooms added.
The emirate aims to boost tourism’s contribution to the economy to a third by 2035 and position itself as one of the top 10 fastest-growing global destinations. The strategy is expected to create many jobs in the industry, with the Wynn resort alone forecast to employ about 7,000 people.
The emirate is setting up the infrastructure to encourage such growth, Mr Phillips said.
Ras Al Khaimah International Airport recorded 661,765 arrivals last year, up 28 per cent annually, with that number estimated to exceed two million by the end of the decade.
“The airport is going through a great transformation and, with the growth of tourism that the destination is going through, it complements it," he said.
"It has to [grow and transform] to meet the demand that's coming through. We will be making announcements in the future of how that airport will transform."
The tourism board is also in talks to increase air connections to the emirate. Mr Phillips said: "I think the whole emirate has to grow and develop. But again, you're 45 minutes away from one of the busiest airports in the world [Dubai International] ... I think the entire UAE ecosystem helps to drive the success that we're having."
The emirate “can be ready” by 2027 to welcome the influx of tourists when Wynn opens, said Mr Weaver.
“If you look at the emirate now, there is a lot of construction going on, getting ready for not just our hotel, but all the [other] hotels. So there is massive infrastructure being built. And what happens in destinations is, there is this constant evolving that goes on in creating more and more infrastructure,” he said.
“So that's not a static experience where you create the infrastructure and you're done, not in a destination as dynamic as this is going to be."
The Birkin bag is made by Hermès.
It is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin
Noone from Hermès will go on record to say how much a new Birkin costs, how long one would have to wait to get one, and how many bags are actually made each year.
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Gertrude Bell's life in focus
A feature film
At one point, two feature films were in the works, but only German director Werner Herzog’s project starring Nicole Kidman would be made. While there were high hopes he would do a worthy job of directing the biopic, when Queen of the Desert arrived in 2015 it was a disappointment. Critics panned the film, in which Herzog largely glossed over Bell’s political work in favour of her ill-fated romances.
A documentary
A project that did do justice to Bell arrived the next year: Sabine Krayenbuhl and Zeva Oelbaum’s Letters from Baghdad: The Extraordinary Life and Times of Gertrude Bell. Drawing on more than 1,000 pieces of archival footage, 1,700 documents and 1,600 letters, the filmmakers painstakingly pieced together a compelling narrative that managed to convey both the depth of Bell’s experience and her tortured love life.
Books, letters and archives
Two biographies have been written about Bell, and both are worth reading: Georgina Howell’s 2006 book Queen of the Desert and Janet Wallach’s 1996 effort Desert Queen. Bell published several books documenting her travels and there are also several volumes of her letters, although they are hard to find in print. Original documents are housed at the Gertrude Bell Archive at the University of Newcastle, which has an online catalogue.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Prop idols
Girls full-contact rugby may be in its infancy in the Middle East, but there are already a number of role models for players to look up to.
Sophie Shams (Dubai Exiles mini, England sevens international)
An Emirati student who is blazing a trail in rugby. She first learnt the game at Dubai Exiles and captained her JESS Primary school team. After going to study geophysics at university in the UK, she scored a sensational try in a cup final at Twickenham. She has played for England sevens, and is now contracted to top Premiership club Saracens.
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Seren Gough-Walters (Sharjah Wanderers mini, Wales rugby league international)
Few players anywhere will have taken a more circuitous route to playing rugby on Sky Sports. Gough-Walters was born in Al Wasl Hospital in Dubai, raised in Sharjah, did not take up rugby seriously till she was 15, has a master’s in global governance and ethics, and once worked as an immigration officer at the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi. In the summer of 2021 she played for Wales against England in rugby league, in a match that was broadcast live on TV.
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Erin King (Dubai Hurricanes mini, Ireland sevens international)
Aged five, Australia-born King went to Dubai Hurricanes training at The Sevens with her brothers. She immediately struck up a deep affection for rugby. She returned to the city at the end of last year to play at the Dubai Rugby Sevens in the colours of Ireland in the Women’s World Series tournament on Pitch 1.
Results
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