Waldorf RAK awarded grant to support local wildlife park

Waldorf Astoria Ras Al Khaimah has been awarded Hilton’s Travel with Purpose grant to support a local wildlife park in Ras Al Khaimah.

Ras Al Khaimah Wildlife Park was founded by Emirati national Jasim Ali in 2013 to rescue exotic animals found in the United Arab Emirates. A team of animal enthusiasts, known as Royal Paw Consultants, manage the operation of the park and care for the rescued animals that reside there. The animals range from black leopards, Bengal tigers, white tigers, lions and primates, many of which are extinct in the wild.

Waldorf Astoria Ras Al Khaimah plans to use the awarded grant of US $5,000 to fund air condition units, resolve irrigation issues and enhance the enclosures for the animals by building jungle gyms and planting trees.

With temperatures in UAE during the summer reaching up to 50°C, the animals in the wildlife park are in need of fresh circulating water features, shaded areas and air conditioned sections to ensure that they can remain cool. Another crucial part of the improvement project, includes the wildlife park’s kitchen, which is planned to be refurbished to create a safe food preparation area with controlled freezers to store meat and feeding products.

Waldorf Astoria Ras Al Khaimah HR director Begona Campoy said: "There is an ever-growing movement towards sustainable travel and we believe that our guests at Waldorf Astoria Ras Al Khaimah are keen to make environmental-based travel choices and are eager for their chosen hotels to do the same. Here at Waldorf Astoria Ras Al Khaimah investing in the community that surrounds and influences our hotel is an important part of what we do. We believe that Ras Al Khaimah Wildlife Park is an important touristic attraction in Ras Al Khaimah that should be given the means of support it deserves in order to flourish."

The park also plans to launch an educational programme “Wild 4 Kidz” to shed light on the animal’s natural habitats for children. The long-term goal is to establish a popular tourist attraction in the UAE, offer a wildlife programme that can be introduced to schools, and act as an ambassador for wildlife protection and conservation in the UAE, at an international level.

Within Waldorf Astoria Ras Al Khaimah the support extended to achieve this goal will include graphic design work and developing the positioning statement, logo and identity of Ras Al Khaimah Wildlife Park.

The hotel will also include retail items within the resort’s shop, giving guests an opportunity to contribute, take home mementos and help spread the word of the park and its message.

Sponsorship of the relaunch event, which is planned for October, video production to monitor the developments, artwork production for collaterals, social media and marketing support are also on the list of activities planned for the future.