Hotel expansion
The plan for hotel expansion is to increase RAK’s total hotel and resort room inventory to 10,000 rooms by 2016.

In May this year the Government of Ras Al Khaimah signed an agreement with Rakeen Development company completing the acquisition of one of RAK's flagship hotel resorts — the Banyan Tree Al Wadi, where the authority is currently overlooking the master plan for expansion and upgrade of the resort.

As Pascal Eppink, general manager of Banyan Tree Al Wadi explains: "We are working on extensive upgrades and will soon come out with news on new services and facilities.

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We have for example analysed all our guest comments over the first year of operation and for those that frequently came up we have come up with permanent solutions, and with the assistance of our owners, the RAK Government, we are eliminating issues structurally and will initiate new facilities and services as per the majority of our guests requests — for example by bringing in a new common swimming pool [currently all villas at the resort have their own private pools]."

Another new development is the 700-room Marjan Island family resort being built on five man-made islands off the coast of Ras Al Khaimah. The property is scheduled to open by October 2012.

Plans are also in the pipeline for a series of mountain resorts, located 900 m above sea level which are currently under development.

“An exceptional strategic advantage for these mountain resorts is the location’s climate, where the temperature will remain up to 12 degrees less than that at ground level, offering the perfect summer retreat for the UAE residents and visitors,” explains Louis.

But perhaps one of the most highly anticipated upcoming openings — scheduled for October 2012 — is the Ras Al Khaimah Waldorf Astoria — the first Waldorf Astoria hotel to open in the UAE.

The 349-room Arabian-themed palace hotel is expected to be one of the most luxurious and exclusive destinations in the UAE.

His Highness Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah stated that the luxury Waldorf Astoria was a "significant step in terms of establishing Ras Al Khaimah as a tourist destination."

Hilton currently has four hotels in or under development in RAK. Hilton Worldwide president MEA Rudi Jagersbacher, said Hilton saw huge potential in the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah and wanted to be in there from "day one" of its development.

“The uniqueness of Ras Al Khaimah is that it is in its early stages of maturity," said Jagersbacher.

"We want to be in there right from day one to be able to develop — tourism being such an important aspect for RAK — and we have to be willing to offer [all standards of hotels], from a three-star operation to a five-star operation to make sure that the uniqueness of the country is a underlined”.

Airline Access
As RAK develops its tourism offering; the emirate's national airline — RAK Airways —which relaunched late last year after suspending operations in 2009 because of the global downturn; is helping to boost RAK's profile as well as open up access.

In 12 months RAK Airways has expanded its route network to 10 destinations with more routes to be announced soon as well as a dedicated RAK Holidays tour operator arm to promote holidays to the emirate.

"RAK Airways is working very closely with the relevant authorities to encourage tourism into the emirate," explains Omar Jahameh, CEO, RAK Airways. "We will shortly be launching ‘RAK Holidays’ to promote a range of short breaks and luxury packages to the emirate."

“While our main objective is to be a successful airline, we would also like to grow our operations in Ras Al Khaimah as a hub, acting as a regional gateway for a number of routes in the future.

Jahameh explains that the airline will mainly be targeting the burgeoining Indian middle-class traveller for business as it expands its route network in the sub-continent.

And while comparisons with Dubai may be inevitable; Louis points out that RAK is not out to compete but to complement its UAE neighbours, adding a unique tourism offering to the mix.

“Given our unique attractions and environments, we do not see ourselves competing with other emirates in the UAE.

We do not see ourselves in competition, rather as complementary, whereby a visit to RAK combined with Dubai, or any other emirate, provides a fuller experience of the UAE as a whole, by offering a leisure destination with ultimate outdoor activities and value for money.”