Ras Al Khaimah aims to tap a wider portion of the Arabian Gulf market with Air Arabia services starting next month.
The Sharjah-based carrier, which will start operating in RAK from May 6, will initially connect Jeddah, Cairo and Muscat, with more destinations in Pakistan, Bangladesh and eventually India.
RAK’s top markets are the UAE, Germany and Russia, accounting for 65 per cent of the tourists, but it is seeking to tap Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman to double the visitor numbers by the end of this year from 1.3 million last year.
In the first quarter, the tourist numbers rose 53 per cent year-on-year.
“We get a little bit less in terms of customers coming from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait, and we have increased our resources in terms of staffing and business development budgets in those markets,” said Steven Rice, the chief executive of Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAK TDA). “The help that we will get from Air Arabia will grow the volume of [guests] providing the initial routes are successful.”
RAK TDA is also working with Air Arabia and the emirate’s airport to ensure the increased volume of passengers is handled smoothly and services such as immigration and duty free are up to scratch.
Ras Al Khaimah International Airport has served mostly charter flights after its low-cost carrier, RAK Airways, stopped operations on January 1.
“We are also looking to make the road up Jebel Jais more tourist-friendly, with more picnic areas and increased signage,” Mr Rice said.
The northern emirate is also looking into the possibilities of developing the artificial Al Marjan Island to attract more tourists. Upgrades could include a retail promenade, parks and connectivity with the waterfront Al Hamra development by footpath, walkways and marine transport.
“There are still plans to look at a mega-resort as per the previous plans involving Real Madrid on Al Marjan Island,” said Mr Rice.
The RAK Investment Authority in 2012 had announced a US$1 billion Real Madrid resort, but the Spanish football club scrapped plans last year after the project organiser, RAK Marjan Island Football, defaulted on payments.
Meanwhile, the emirate has added 1,500 hotel rooms already this year with the opening of the Rixos Bab Al Bahr on Al Marjan Island, the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Resort and Spa Marjan Island, and the Marjan Island Resort and Spa. A Santorini property from UAE-based Bin Majid Hotels is expected to add 265 rooms in the fourth quarter.
The emirate has 4,800 rooms from 18 hotels in the mid-tier and luxury segments. There are another 1,000 rooms from one and two-star hotels and hotel apartments. RAK expects to increase the inventory to 10,000 by 2016.
Average hotel room rates stand at $175. That compared to $366.99 in Dubai and $162.46 in Abu Dhabi last month, according to a HotStats report from the Dubai-based Tri Hospitality Consulting.
In the first quarter, occupancy rates at the emirate’s hotels stood at 75 per cent.
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