TravTalk Middle East Online Magazine
In a continuous effort to strengthen Ras Al Khaimah’s popularity in European markets, Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAKTDA) increased its participation in key European travel trade exhibitions in the first month of 2019.
TT Bureau
They started off the year by participating in Fitur, Spain, for the very first time, alongside co-exhibitors Rixos, Ritz Carlton, Waldorf Astoria, Department of Museums and Antiquities and Toro Verde UAE, where the team was honoured to showcase Ras Al Khaimah and its key attractions to the king and queen of Spain, who visited the RAKTDA stand on the opening day. European visitors are a key focus for Ras Al Khaimah’s tourism promotion strategy in a bid to attract 1.5 million visitors by 2021.
Following in from the success of its inaugural participation in the Vakantiebeurs trade show in the Netherlands at the beginning of January, RAKTDA also recently concluded its second appearance at the MATKA Nordic Travel Fair held at Helsinki in January this year.
The RAKTDA stand was graced by HE Noora Mohammed Juma, the UAE Ambassador to Finland and HE Abdulla Al Neyadi, the Head of Economic, Political & Media Affairs Section, Embassy of the UAE, Helsinki, who interacted with key trade representatives to discuss Ras Al Khaimah’s future and contribution to the global tourism industry. Furthermore, Emirates Airline was among the key co-exhibitors at the RAKTDA stand. RAKTDA also exhibited at the FESPO exhibition in Zurich, Switzerland, a leading consumer travel trade exhibition attracting more than 60,000 visitors.
Haitham Mattar, CEO, RAKTDA, said, “We believe our unique combination of authentic Arabian hospitality, pristine beaches, and outdoor adventure pursuits have great appeal to holidaymakers from all over Europe. Furthermore, in addition to offering an insight into our unique adventure offering on Jebel Jais, we are also using these international travel fairs to promote the successful summer campaign ‘kids go free,’ which saw visitors to Ras Al Khaimah increase by 15 per cent in the summer of 2018 versus the same period in 2017.” Travel trade and public visitors were introduced to Ras Al Khaimah’s diverse and spectacular beach, desert, mountain, and adventure offerings, including a unique Virtual Reality experience which gave them a taste of the breathtaking experience of Jebel Jais Flight – world’s longest zipline at Jebel Jais, the UAE and Ras Al Khaimah’s highest mountain peak
