The Turkish hotel chain Rixos will open a location in Ras Al Khaimah next week as it targets a growing number of Russian tourists to the emirate.
This would be the second property of the Antalya-based company in as many years. Its first opened on the Palm in 2012.
“Families are our main focus, but we also expect about 7 to 8 per cent to be business guests,” said Haytham Omar, the general manager of the Rixos Bab Al Bahr,
The emirate, which now has about 4,000 hotel rooms, has four properties in the pipeline accounting for 1,739 rooms as of January, according to the research company STR Global.
RAK has a target of 10,000 hotel rooms by 2016, and expected 1.2 million visitors last year. About 578,000 people visited the emirate in the first half of the year alone, generating about US$84.95 million, according to the RAK Tourism Development Authority. Tourism now contributes 5 per cent of the emirate’s GDP, up from 2 per cent in 2010.
A majority of the guests came from the UAE and Germany, followed by Russia, Ukraine and Italy.
Located on man-made Al Marjan Island, the Rixos Bab Al Bahr with 655 rooms expects a 60 per cent occupancy for the first year, saidMr Omar.
About 80 per cent of its guests are expected to come from overseas, including its top markets such as the Russian Commonwealth, Germany and the United Kingdom, with most of the other guests coming from other parts of the UAE.
The organisation’s worldwide properties are popular with Iranians, Emiratis and Saudis among the Middle Eastern demographic, said Basak Erel, the senior vice president for brand management at Rixos Hotels.
Room rates at the Rixos Bab Al Bahr start at Dh1,366 per room per night, putting it among the high-end properties in the emirate. The average daily room rates at the beach hotels in the emirate touched Dh645 during the first half of last year, while the city hotels with more corporate clientele reported an average of Dh270.
And the Turkish company is not the only one targeting RAK as its next destination. The 485-room DoubleTree by Hilton opened last month, following the 346-room Waldorf Astoria in August.
Rixos has 21 properties worldwide, including the RAK property, with 10 of them in Turkey.
Tomorrow, it plans to open its 114-room property in Sochi, Russia, in time for the Winter Olympics. Last month, it opened its 59-room hotel in Davos, Switzerland, coinciding with the World Economic Forum, and on New Year’s Day it opened its 550-room property in Quba, Azerbaijan.
ssahoo@thenational.ae
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Meydan card
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 (PA) Group 1 US$65,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
7.05pm: Conditions (TB) $100,000 (Turf) 1,400m
7.40pm: UAE 2000 Guineas Trial (TB) $100,000 (D) 1,600m
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 1,200m
8.50pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 (TB) Group 2 $350,000 (D) 1,600m
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (D) 1,900m
10pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,600m
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)
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Mumbai Indians 213/6 (20 ov)
Royal Challengers Bangalore 167/8 (20 ov)
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
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The biog
Fast facts on Neil Armstrong’s personal life:
- Armstrong was born on August 5, 1930, in Wapakoneta, Ohio
- He earned his private pilot’s license when he was 16 – he could fly before he could drive
- There was tragedy in his married life: Neil and Janet Armstrong’s daughter Karen died at the age of two in 1962 after suffering a brain tumour. She was the couple’s only daughter. Their two sons, Rick and Mark, consulted on the film
- After Armstrong departed Nasa, he bought a farm in the town of Lebanon, Ohio, in 1971 – its airstrip allowed him to tap back into his love of flying
- In 1994, Janet divorced Neil after 38 years of marriage. Two years earlier, Neil met Carol Knight, who became his second wife in 1994
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Biog
Mr Kandhari is legally authorised to conduct marriages in the gurdwara
He has officiated weddings of Sikhs and people of different faiths from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Russia, the US and Canada
Father of two sons, grandfather of six
Plays golf once a week
Enjoys trying new holiday destinations with his wife and family
Walks for an hour every morning
Completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Loyola College, Chennai, India
2019 is a milestone because he completes 50 years in business
The biog
Favourite colour: Brown
Favourite Movie: Resident Evil
Hobbies: Painting, Cooking, Imitating Voices
Favourite food: Pizza
Trivia: Was the voice of three characters in the Emirati animation, Shaabiyat Al Cartoon
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