Plans for sporting events in Ajman seek to draw visitors

Faisal Al Nuaimi, the head of the tourism authority, hopes that sporting events can be a tool to draw new visitors to the emirate.

This year’s Ride Ajman in April drew 165 participants, many of whom took part in the 7 kilometre race. Pawan Singh / The National

AJMAN // After hosting the inaugural Ride Ajman cycling event this year, the emirate has big plans for sport and tourism next year.

Faisal Al Nuaimi, head of the tourism authority, hopes that sporting events would help to draw visitors to the emirate.

Next April, cyclists from across the world will compete in the second Ride Ajman, which will feature a 92 kilometre and 7km events. In next February, the Desert Warrior Challenge, obstacle courses held over three days, will draw fans of extreme sports.

“We are pushing sports tourism and physical activities,” Mr Al Nuaimi said. “People want to travel and do things, not just come and do nothing. We also want to encourage people to move, to help keep diabetes and obesity away.”

This year’s Ride Ajman drew 165 participants, many of whom took part in the 7km race. Next year’s event will raise money for the Ajman Club for the Disabled.

Mr Al Nuaimi said efforts to promote tourism should be united, with hotels supporting events by offering accommodation packages to encourage people to extend their stay in Ajman after the events.

With dozens of similar and more established events around the UAE, the incentives for visitors must be high.

“We want people to stay before and after the races,” Mr Al Nuaimi said.

“The hotels didn’t expect the turnout we had for Ride Ajman, so they didn’t focus on how to market the event for themselves. Next year, everyone wants to be a part of it.”

Ride Ajman organisers hope that 400 cyclists would participate in the two events next year.

Despite its proximity to Dubai, many tourists are unaware of Ajman and what it has to offer. “They didn’t expect five-star hotels to be here,” said Mr Al Nuaimi, adding that 65 per cent of cyclists in the inaugural Ride Ajman had never been to the emirate before.

“They see that the prices here are cheaper than in Dubai, it’s not far and it’s better to stay and get up early for the race and enjoy their time here.”

The tourism chief hopes to attract people from across the region and the world.

“Many emirates have focused on particular nationalities, meaning that when those economies got hit they suffered, so we need to make sure we don’t make that mistake,” said Mr Al Nuaimi. “With the sports events, we are trying to customise them to suit people of all ages.”

As well as drawing sports- minded tourists, he said such events would also help to keep residents fit and active.

“We have partnered with two gyms in Ajman that have agreed to help train people for the Desert Warrior Challenge, but I’m 100 per cent sure that holding these events will encourage people to get more active,” said Mr Al Nuaimi.

Outreach to schools and universities was a vital part of the strategy, he said.

Kai Schukowski, general manager of the Ajman Kempinski hotel, said attracting tourists for sporting events would not be easy.

“It won’t bring tourists flocking through the doors, but as another point of the holistic tourism strategy, it’s crucial,” he said.

He said more facilities should be built to exploit the sports market. “We have a lot of European football teams stay with us and we could do so much better if we had better sports venues. The more events we do, the more likely the investment,” said Mr Schukowski.

However, this remains a challenge without a sports council to oversee such development in the emirate.

“We don’t have anyone looking after sports here,” Mr Al Nuaimi said. “We should have a council doing these things. If we have someone specialised in this, we can help promote sports and tourism together.”