Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority has published the results of the emirate’s tourism sector. It turns out that the previous year was the record one for the popular tourist destination in the United Arab Emirates. Ras Al Khaimah managed to attract as many as 1,072,066 visitors (both domestic and international), setting a new record in this metric. The growth in the number of guests estimated 10% compared to 2017.
Indeed, Ras Al Khaimah hotels are full of guests from all parts of the world these days, but who visits this emirate more often? Domestic travelers pay an important role here as their share is roughly 38% of the total. Germany is the most important international source market. Last year, 83,605 visitors from this country arrived in Ras Al Khaimah. Russia with 83,531 visitors is the second most source market. By the way, Russia was also one of the fastest growing source markets it is 17% up compared to 2017. They are followed by the UK and India (63,054 visitors, +11.5%; 62,325 visitors, +22% respectively). Kazakhstan with the result of 27,168 visitors is the fifth most important source market for Ras Al Khaimah.
In 2016, Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority launched a new travel strategy, according to which the emirate was planning to develop its tourism sector to reach 1 million visitors within three years. As now we can see, this plan is now exceeded. What made Ras Al Khaimah so popular? The emirate had several successful openings that drive tourists to this destination. For example, the opening of Jebel Jais Flight - The World’s Longest Zipline was a magnet for travelers last year. It has already welcomed more than 25,000 flyers. Thanks to the zipline, Ras Al Khaimah appeared in the Guinness World Book of Records. This made the emirate an emerging player on the adventure tourism market.
Moreover, with the opening of seven viewing deck platforms on the top of Jebel Jais, Ras Al Khaimah attracted numerous trippers and holidaymakers who want to enjoy a spectacular view of the Arabian Gulf. As the number of tourists keeps growing, the emirate has more interesting projects in mind, such as a survival training academy, a luxury mountain camp with 47 rooms, and almost 65 kilometers of new hiking trails.
This year, tourists will have one more reason to book a hotel in Ras Al Khaimah. The new Jebel Jais Adventure Park is set to open in 2019. It will offer new attractions, a new zipline tour, a climbing tower, the Bull maze, and much more. Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority has recently published its new strategy, in which it plans to attract higher yield tourists seeking new adventure experiences, as well as tourists of different segments.