RAK tourism boss unveils plan to lure visitors

Steven Rice, CEO of RAK Tourism and Development Authority (TDA), outlined his plans for the emirate in a 10-year master plan that he hopes will establish RAK on the tourist map.

The grounds and pool at the Rixos Bab Al Bahr in Ras Al Khaimah. Sarah Dea / The National

RAK // With a mandate of attracting tourists from all over the world to Ras Al Khaimah, Steven Rice is aiming to accomplish this through promoting the emirate’s rich heritage, traditional culture, knowledgeable locals, rugged landscape and unspoilt coastline.

The chief executive of RAK Tourism and Development Authority (TDA) outlined a 10-year master plan that he hopes will put the emirate on the tourist map.

Mr Rice said the biggest challenge was making people aware of RAK.

“Everyone knows about Dubai and Abu Dhabi, but they don’t know about RAK. But it’s only one hour away from Dubai,” said Mr Rice, who has been in the job since the start of the year and admitted that he has his work cut out for him.

“It’s a case of knowing how to get people to know it’s here.”

The drive to attract more visitors also means making the northern emirate more appealing to UAE residents, Emiratis and expatriates alike. Mr Rice hoped to achieve this by making the most of RAK’s heritage and putting Emiratis at the forefront in helping to project the image of the emirate and to interact with visitors.

“We want locals to be a part of this, to be involved in events and activities,” he said. “We want the people working for us to feel RAK in their hearts and know its secrets to share with others.”

One of the TDA’s major goals is to have more interaction between visitors and locals, who can speak firsthand about their own culture, history and communities.

A traditional pearl farm is now being rebuilt to showcase the history of pearl diving and a calendar of events is being created to encourage people to visit the popular camel races.

“We’ll be starting a training programme for Emiratis in RAK to begin working in the TDA,” said Mr Rice.

Haytham Omar, general manager of the newly opened Rixos resort, will team up with the authority on its graduate recruitment programme and is keen to have locals work at the hotel.

“We need it because we have many local guests and many of those are repeat guests already, so we will be linking with the authority on the graduate recruitment programme.”

As well as encouraging tourists to mix with Emiratis, the TDA is working with the police on the Friends of Tourism project to raise awareness about the dos and don’ts people should know when visiting.

“It’s about educating tourists in the ways of local culture and how Islam is ingrained in society here and to tolerate tourists who are maybe unaware of the rules and unintentionally break them,” said Mr Rice.

“We’re not in the business of punishing tourists because they’re breaking the rules. [It’s about] making people feel that they can do what they want to do here while getting an interesting education about RAK and what Islam is all about.

“People come here and often have no idea about the cultural norms, while others come thinking it’s quite strict. What they discover is that it’s different, but a kind and gentle culture.”

The project, and the TDA master plan, are part of an initiative ordered by Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi, the Ruler of RAK, who is investing heavily in tourism as the emirate works to diversify its economy.

In the past 12 months, there have been several major hotel openings, including the Waldorf Astoria and the Rixos, increasing the number of rooms from 3,000 to 5,000.

Andre Herrenschmidt, general manager of the Waldorf Astoria, first came to the UAE two decades ago and has worked in RAK as part of the hotel project for the past two years. He said the emirate offered a genuine UAE experience.

“RAK is a destination. What you experience here is the authentic UAE,” he said.

The emirate’s older hotels have also welcomed the TDA’s plans and have been impressed with Mr Rice’s ideas.

Govind Prathap, general manager of the 25-year-old Bin Majid Beach Resort, said the addition of such big names as the Waldorf Astoria were key to the emirate’s growth.

“Even old properties like us need the new brands. Yes it’s competition, but it’s not a threat. It helps the destination to grow,” he said.

“Things are happening now. We meet regularly with the authority and hoteliers and he [Mr Rice] has taken a lot of initiative to sell the destination and we all need to support him. Things have started happening since he came.”