Iyad Rasbey
How has the year 2023 been for Ras Al Khaimah?
It has been a great year, can’t complain. If you look at the growth year on year compared to 2022, we are experiencing a growth of 14.5 pc from different markets to the destinations. So it has been a great year.
Which are the markets that have been performing the best?
India is definitely, one of them. So this year, the growth out of India is more than 25 pc higher again compared to last year. With the new connectivity, with IndiGo launching daily flights from Hyderabad as well, has supported a lot. More weddings are happening in the destination. So there is definitely growth from India and besides India we see growth from the UK, from Russia for sure, Kazakhstan and Germany. So those are the top five source markets for us. Plus the other secondary markets are picking up. GCC is doing great for us as well. France, Benelux, as a region and Nordic are also performing well.
In terms of total volume, what percentage would India have?
From a total volume, I would say maybe 8 to 10 pc. But that’s below the potential. We can do better out of India. And that’s why we have a presence started last year in India, the team build and they continue the support with IndiGo flights. I mean, they have bigger plans, in the next year, as well, maybe to have more cities covered of out the market. I was talking with certain tour operators, it is only growing so we will be experiencing a growth and I agree with you, the potential is much bigger. Plus we have more rooms and hotels coming up as well. So this will also support the demand out of India.
How does RAK position itself vis a vis other Emirates of the UAE?
Look, we are very different. I mean, the seven Emirates are quite different from each other in terms of the offerings and the products. And this is the beauty of the UAE, we complement each other and we don’t compete.
So, Ras Al Khaimah being one of them is a holiday destination for different kind of tourists and especially the Indians. It is totally different than Dubai, and, even Abu Dhabi. And what we have started noticing is that they would combine Ras Al Khaimah with Abu Dhabi or with Dubai, which is great for all Emirates.
You have been doing a lot of activity in sustainability. How much of that has really transpired on the ground and how much has been in announcements?
We started with this two years ago. We partnered with Earth Checks, the leader in assisted consulting destinations on being sustainable. Last year we spent collecting data from our properties, just to understand, where they stand and what they are missing. And now this year after they reported to us, we know how we need to support them. Sustainability is everywhere, it is a buzzword. Everyone says, I’m doing sustainability. For us, no, being one with nature applies to everything we do on a daily basis and being a developing destination, it is easier for us to implement sustainability if you compare us with any other destination that is already developed. So, now we have 20 to 25 stakeholders between hotels and attractions. They are part of this programme. We were the first destination in the Middle East to be certified as a silver, receiving the silver certification from earth checks, we have a lot to do. I mean, but by 2025, hopefully will be the first destination to be fully sustainable.
So what exactly is RAKTDA doing with hotels & other stakeholders?
Look with the hotels, the majority of them are working within the programme that Earth Checks is creating now. It is not yet ready. It has been built based on the data that we have collected. The same applies to attractions, but the new hotels that are opening up there are certain regulations for them to construct based on sustainability and to operate in a sustainable way.
And this is what I said, it is easier now, for developing destinations to implement such standards, rather than fully developed destination. It is a long way to reach where we want to reach, but at least we are on the right track now and by 2025 will have it already. From reducing single plastic usage, food waste management even the amenities that they use within the hotel is sustainable. So there are many things for the new properties that are coming up. The ones that exist already, if you look at each and every brand has its own programme. What we have done is, we took it on a destination level and enhanced it as well. So again, it’s a long route we have taken and will keep on developing it.
You said that you want to enhance your activities in India next year. So have you identified which other cities want to go to?
We are going to go to Tier II and Tier III cities. Delhi and Mumbai it is where the business is, but it is saturated by other DMOs, other destinations coming in. There you are going to be one of so many, it doesn’t mean that we will not be targetting it, but we want to look at Tier II and Tier III cities. We are looking towards south. Chennai, Hyderabad, of course because we have connectivity. I always say India is a continent, not a country because it is big, it is massive. We are looking at having showcases in different cities rather than having a road show in three-four cities. So to be able to cover more regions, we are taking the showcase approach rather than the roadshows. And it is more focused.
You signed this agreement with Oman MoU about the cross country. Please tell us something about that.
We have signed it with Omran Group, the developers of Musandam and Dibba. If you look at Musandam, it is only about one hour and a half drive from Ras Al Khaimah. It has great activities and attractions, it complements what Ras Al Khaimah has to offer. We always give this example, we have the longest zip line in the world. So, you know, there are many things that we can partner on and we are both developing destinations.
Oman has a limited number of rooms and this limits them in bringing in people. So we would be supporting by having people going there spending a day enjoying what Musandam has to offer and come back. Plus, the majority of the tourists would love to take two countries in one trip, right? So you are doing Ras Al Khaimah one day and Musandam and come back. I have done it myself when I was in Dubrovnik in Croatia. Montenegro was only two hours drive. We went straight to Montenegro and came back. So we look forward to this partnership with Omran and Oman.
Will this apply to India? Because you need a separate visa for Oman.
If you look at the MoU, one of the things is how to ease travel for tourists between both destinations. So may be we will reach some understanding with them to allow 24-hour entries or some other way to facilitate movement of tourists between the two destinations. This is something that we will be working on.
We have seen that Ras Al Khaimah is promoting adventure in a very big way. What kind of response are you getting for that?
We got into the Bear Grylls Explore Camp. Last year, we got into the campaign but operations started in 2020. It is a great activity to do in the Middle East. So the new generation, even in the GCC, this is something we’ve been noticing, is an outdoors generation. They want to go up and high. We have a great 75 km of hiking trails. They want to spend time at Bear Grylls. You have packages from four hours up to 24 hours with the overnight option as well. The zipline, the skytour to the other adventure activities. So it is being well received by, I would say, the new generation or the young travellers. We are noticing a growth in demand towards adventure and outdoor activities.
Which segments of India are you looking at?
Leisure, weddings and MICE as well. If you look at Ras Al Khaimah, it is not a business hub, we are not a transit hub. So the majority of tourists are leisure, weddings or MICE, whether conferences meetings or even incentives. From the conference perspective, we have a beautiful convention centre. It is the only standalone venue that is by the beach. And our region 2700 sqm open space with an outdoor venue as well, for conferences. It is very ideal. We hosted a conference of the Indian wedding planners earlier this year. And we have hosted many other international conferences here. When it comes to incentives, Ras Al Khaimah has it all from the adventure activities, to the cultures activities and the city activities.
What kind of branding are you doing in India?
We have two directions for this, we do with B2B to B2C. So we invest with our partners through their channels, it could be outdoor channels, it could be TV, radio, name it, and we do have our own activity which complements what they’re doing. So with our partners, we plan our branding or advertising plan for the year.
