Can tiny northern emirate outshine Dubai and Abu Dhabi?

1For centuries, Ras Al Khamiah was a strategic outpost along the ancient silk road trading route.

Today, the northernmost of the seven emirates that make up the UAE is often overlooked alongside its extravagant neighbors of Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

All that could be set to change, however, with the ruling Al Qasimi family set to make a big push in the region’s burgeoning residential and tourism sectors.

International hotel brands such as?Hilton?and?Rixos?have moved in while developers are building luxury apartments and villas at a rapid pace.

By the end of 2014,?Ras Al Khamiah (or RAK as it is often known)will have some 4,800 hotel rooms, a 60% expansion from the start of last year. The government says occupancy is currently running at 73% for beachfront resorts and revenue per room rose a solid 39% in three years.

Vice president of operations at Hilton, Christian Grage, believes these rising numbers are only the beginning of what’s possible in RAK. The Hotel giant has been in the emirate for more than a dozen years and opened a branch of the Waldorf Astoria there last August.

“We actually are not necessarily surprised about what has come,” Grage said. “I would describe it as if you build it they will come. I think we have anticipated the opportunity.”

To help fill out RAKs new capacity, Air Arabia, a fast growing budget carrier, is set to move in to replace a struggling local airline. The hope is this partnership will help provide easy access to RAK from the likes of India and Saudi Arabia.

A group of international travel experts, meanwhile, are fine tuning a grand master plan to ensure that demand is aligned with all the new hotel and residential inventory coming on stream.

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Source: John Defterios (2014). Can tiny northern emirate outshine Dubai and Abu Dhabi?, CNN 1 published Mar 13, 2014. Viewed Mar 17, 2014.