Eyes 30,000 overnights from India this year
Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority, Haitham Mattar, CEO, Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority recently highlighted that the less-explored emirate of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is targeting close to 30,000 overnights from India this year. He said that the visitor arrivals from the Indian market were growing at a rapid pace of 81% year on year. Last year, the destination witnessed 16,000 Indian overnights, an 81% rise over the previous year. This year Mattar is looking forward to close the year with close to 30,000 overnights from India.
“Indian ranks as the 4th source market for the destination after Germany, Russia and the United Kingdom with 2-3 days of average length of stay and an average spend of USD 219. People who travel for weddings to the destination spend about USD 300 on an average. Moreover, the 81% year on year growth made us pay attention to the untapped opportunities in India. For the current year, we are targeting the leisure, Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) and the wedding segment from India,” asserted Mattar.
In February, the National Council of Tourism and Antiquities (NCTA), in association with various tourism departments and authorities of the UAE would be coming down for a joint road show in the Indian market and will be covering all major cities in India. The other details are yet to be finalised.
The destination also aims to increase the hotel room supply from the existing 5,000 rooms to 8,600 rooms by the end of 2019. On the supply front, he added that Rotana and Hilton are increasing room supply and with Tulip Inn opening up this year, he hopes to add 3,600 more rooms by 2019. Anantara Hotels & Resorts would also be opening a hotel at Ras Al Khaimah in the next 2 years.
The Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority is soon to appoint a representation office and thereafter will decide on the events and workshops for the year ahead to build good relations with the travel trade. He also added that they will be deliberating with Indian carriers for direct connectivity to Ras Al Khaimah.
The visa process to Ras Al Khaimah takes 3 working days. The destination is closest to the city of Sharjah, a 35-minute drive; 45-minutes from the Dubai International Airport and 2.5-hrs from the Abu Dhabi International Airport. Over 245 flights fly every week from India to the UAE, confirmed Mattar.
