Ras Al Khaimah homes in on 1.5m guest nights in Q3

Strong growth for hotels in Ras Al Khaimah continued in the third quarter, with the emirate ending the period with more than 1.47 million guest nights in 2014 so far.

By comparison, in 2013 the one million barrier was not broken until November, and Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAK TDA) CEO Steven Rice explained how this reflected a trend of increasing interest in the emirate.

"Our percentage growth in guest nights for the third quarter of 2014 compared to the same period last year was 72%, so extremely impressive,” he said.

“We are also seeing significant increases in the number of people searching for Ras Al Khaimah in Google, in visits to our website, and in the levels of engagement via our social media presence. In addition, hotel room revenue increased in the third quarter of 2014 by 47% compared to last year."

The authority also cited data from Smith Travel Research showing that Ras Al Khaimah's average daily roomrate was 19% higher than Abu Dhabi, supported by new openings on Al Marjan Island and Waldorf Astoria Ras Al Khaimah.

Meanwhile, during Eid Al Adha, the emirate attracted over 63,870 guest nights over five days; domestic UAE tourism was the strongest source market, accounting for 32%, followed by UK (12%), Russia (11%) and Germany (10%).

"Forward bookings are looking strong, interest in the Emirate across multiple business sectors is on the rise and overall we expect the positive growth patterns experienced in Ras Al Khaimah to continue,” added Rice.