While other international hotel companies have concentrated their expansion efforts in the UAE on Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Hilton has been rapidly growing in the sleepy northern emirate of Ras al Khaimah. The US company is hoping to capitalise as the emirate aims for tourism to eventually make up a fifth of its economy by positioning itself as a cheaper alternative holiday spot to Dubai.
"I believe that for Ras al Khaimah the opportunity to have the advantage of a pure leisure destination will be a big plus," said Essam Abouda, the vice president of operations at Hilton Worldwide, Arabian Peninsula and Indian Ocean. "What will help Ras al Khaimah to reach that is the accessibility, such as promoting the destination to charter flights, which you don't have in Dubai," said Mr Abouda.
With the opening of Hilton's DoubleTree hotel in Ras al Khaimah at the beginning of April, the operator now has three hotels in the emirate, more properties than it has under management in Dubai or Abu Dhabi. Hilton also plans to open its delayed Waldorf Astoria luxury hotel in Ras al Khaimah next year, which will be its first property under the brand in the UAE. By far the biggest operator in the emirate, Hilton also has another hotel under development that is expected to open in the northern emirate in 2013.
The emirate recently launched its Ras al Khaimah Hotels and Tourism Development Authority to oversee the ambitious growth targets of its tourism industry, with a 10-year plan to invest hundreds of millions of dollars into hotel and tourism projects, with the aim of quadrupling its visitor numbers and a target for tourism to make up 20 per cent of its income. The authority has said it hopes to achieve this "by positioning itself as a lower-cost destination to its ostentatious neighbour, Dubai". Ras al Khaimah's GDP accounts for just 1.5 per cent of the UAE's economy.
As part of its new tourism framework, the Banyan Tree Al Wadi luxury desert resort was last month transferred from Rakeen Development to the Government.
Hilton's hotels in Ras al Khaimah have enjoyed occupancy levels of about 85 per cent in the first quarter of the year, the company said. Last year, the occupancy levels at its hotels in the emirate averaged 70 per cent, accommodating about 80,000 guests in total. The hotels were popular among holidaymakers from the UK, Germany and Italy in particular, Hilton said. RAK Airways relaunched in the fourth quarter of last year after suspending its operations in 2009 because of the global downturn.
"The hotel industry in the Gulf is competitive, with other emirates and neighbouring countries vying to boost their total number of hotel nights, particularly at the four and five-star level," Oxford Business Group said in its 2011 report on Ras al Khaimah. "Growth in hotel guests staying in the emirate has been impressive, rising 132 per cent from 235,000 to 542,000 between 2008 and 2009. The majority of visitors come from Europe (54 per cent) and elsewhere in the UAE (37 per cent)."
rbundhun@thenational.ae
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
The Equaliser 2
Director Antoine Fuqua
Starring: Denzel Washington, Bill Pullman, Melissa Leo, Ashton Sanders
Three stars
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Bio:
Favourite Quote: Prophet Mohammad's quotes There is reward for kindness to every living thing and A good man treats women with honour
Favourite Hobby: Serving poor people
Favourite Book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite food: Fish and vegetables
Favourite place to visit: London
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: ten-speed
Power: 420bhp
Torque: 624Nm
Price: Dh325,125
On sale: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Revibe%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hamza%20Iraqui%20and%20Abdessamad%20Ben%20Zakour%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Refurbished%20electronics%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410m%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Resonance%20and%20various%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
More from Aya Iskandarani
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Pearls on a Branch: Oral Tales
Najlaa Khoury, Archipelago Books
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Match info:
Burnley 0
Manchester United 2
Lukaku (22', 44')
Red card: Marcus Rashford (Man United)
Man of the match: Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United)
