Ras Al Khaimah is ‘prime’ for investment now, says RAKTDA CEO

“I think the development in the investment in RAK is prime – the opportunities and when you want to look for a reason to invest – there are a few things in there. Obviously, the destination is very important, and this is a destination that is going through tremendous change and growth,” Philips told Arabian Business in an exclusive interview at the Arabian Travel Market 2025.

The tourism chief highlighted several factors that make the emirate an attractive investment proposition, including its strategic location and safety credentials.

Reasons to invest in Ras Al Khaimah

“Second of all is the connectivity that the destination has, whether its 45 minutes from Dubai International Airport, 35 minutes from Sharjah Airport and then our very own Ras Al Khaimah Airport, but we also are the number one place for domestic tourism – 50 per cent of our visitors come from the domestic market, so there is a viable flow of people that come,” Philips explained.

“And the third place is safety. You want to put your money in a place that you know is safe and secure, and we are very blessed with the institutions that are in the UAE, and especially in Ras Al Khaimah,” he added.

His comments came as Ras Al Khaimah achieved record tourism numbers last year with nearly 1.3 million visitors, as the emirate plans to double its hotel room capacity over the next five years.

“We did have a record year of arrivals, just shy of 1.3 million visitors, which was a good growth year on year,” Philips said, adding that a “big contributor” was the opening of various hotels in the emirate.

“The Anantara Mina was our first luxury resort. It had over water villas, and it did really well – beautiful product,” he said.

Philips noted that other hotel openings included the Sofitel Al Hamra, while the Waldorf reopened following renovation. Additionally, the Pullman was rebranded, and the Rixos Al Mairid that went through reopening.

The emirate currently has approximately 8,000 hotel keys and plans to increase this to between 15,000 and 20,000 keys by the end of the decade.

“At a minimum, by the end of the decade, we will be at 15,000 to 20,000 keys. And these are projects that we know have been announced, and are under development – we can see them coming out – and this really shows the attractiveness and the resilience of the destination,” Philips said.

The tourism chief confirmed several high-profile hotel brands are set to enter the market, including Four Seasons in Mina, Ras Al Khaimah, W Hotel and Nobu Hotel. The Wynn integrated resort is also under development, which will add 1,500 keys to the destination.

“I am very excited about Wynn as an integrated resort coming into the destination. Wynn is a global brand. It is going to bring an additional 1,500 keys into the destination,” Philips stated.

India, China top visitors in Ras Al Khaimah

The RAKTDA CEO further highlighted that the emirate’s top visitor markets include Russia and Kazakhstan (CIS region), the UK, Germany, India, and the Czech Republic.

“India, we’ve seen a tremendous growth from which we’re very happy,” he said, revealing that China has also entered Ras Al Khaimah’s top 10 visitor markets, with Philips announcing a continuation of the emirate’s partnership with Chinese online travel agency Huawei to further develop this market.

“Today, China is in our top 10 visitors, and we have seen significant growth year on year from that demographic, and we also saw it from the luxury segment of the travellers. They stay at the Ritz-Carlton, the Waldorf and Anantara,” he said.

Philips attributed the emirate’s growing appeal to several factors, including the UAE’s business-friendly environment.

“There are very few places that are going through the success that the country, the United Arab Emirates, is one from a growth and prosperity when it comes to business. But two, there’s very few places that make living and doing business so easy and so comfortable,” he explained.

He highlighted Ras Al Khaimah’s natural assets as distinctive advantages. “Ras Al Khaimah takes it to the next level, especially because of the topography that we have the highest mountain in the UAE. So for people that are looking for hiking and a connection with nature, our 64 kilometres of white sand beach, proximity to Dubai International Airport,” he explained.

“All of those are factors that make it very [attractive] and I think from an investment perspective, this is a place that is continuously outperforming itself year on year compared to other parts of the world.”

Philips concluded by encouraging people to “continue focusing on RAK as a wonderful destination, to vacation, to stay… it is a year-round destination, and to learn how to appreciate and love our beautiful mountains.”