- RAK had limited budgets and therefore promotions were mostly through PR.
- The need for information on new developments were provided to key publications, opinion leaders and to overseas journalists with usable visuals and data. This paid us handsome dividends. At B2B venues we were known entities and there was a healthy curiosity about us.
- In fact agencies were jokingly told by my boss Dr Massaad " I hired an agency man and now he does not let me spend on advertising!!"
- However the results are clearly visible: In 2004 the tourism arrivals were 116,000 with 825 rooms when I had joined.(Dept of tourism figures).
- By the time it was 2006, the arrivals had jumped to 300,000, a clear jump of 158% in two years which meant an increase of 184000. From then on, 2007 saw a jump of 200,000 arrivals taking it up to 500,000, a growth of 40% YOY.
- The number of Hotels has also climbed as is listed below. I was privileged to handle the famed Banyan Tree Resorts Hotels.
RAK hotels achieve 93% occupancy in 2007
PRESS RELEASE
- Hotels in Ras Al Khaimah achieved a phenomenal 93% occupancy level during 2007, reflecting the rising popularity of the emirate as an international tourism destination.
- Ras Al Khaimah Tourism officials pegged the number of visitors to the emirate in 2007 at 500,000 and have unveiled an ambitious action plan to increase annual tourist numbers to 2.5 million by 2012.
- The emirate plans to increase the number of hotel rooms by five fold, from the current 1400 rooms to 7500, by 2012.
- 'The year 2007 was a fantastic year for Ras Al Khaimah as we enjoyed 40 % growth in tourist numbers and the hotels recorded 93 % occupancy levels throughout the year.
- International hotel chains are investing in the emirate in a big way with major projects by Hilton, Marriott Hotels, InterContinental, Rotana Hotels and Banyan Tree Resort currently underway, apart from the top- of- the- line Al Hamra Palace project.
- The immediate action plan for RAK Tourism would include restoration and preservation of all the heritage sites, setting up wildlife watching areas for visitors, implementing a coastal management programme and beautification project for RAK city areas. 'We are working on providing improved access and services to tourists in areas like Dhayah Fort, Shamal, the old city souk and Al Jazeera Al Hamra, apart from taking full advantage of the eco- tourism possibilities available to us in the mountains, beach tourism and desert,' she said.
- Speaking at the conference, Ivor McBurney, Vice President Development- Middle East, Hilton Hotels said that Ras Al Khaimah has taken care to maintain a unique cultural identity with a clear 'character and feel'.
- 'Ever since we opened in Ras Al Khaimah in 2001 the Year on Year average RevPAR % growth (Revenue Per Available Room) has been in double digits every year,' he added.
Rajiv Ratnarajah Assistant Vice President & Head - Project Planning & Project Management [PPM], Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts
"I had the pleasure of working with Vinod Natesan when he was the owners representative from RAKIA as the Head of the Tourism Office. Vinod was involved in the capacity of the clients representative and project director for the proposed Banyan Tree in RAK as well as oversaw the overall development chain of all new hospitality and media projects by RAKIA. Vinod is an extremely well rounded person who ensured all aspects of a development was considered including providing valuable design inputs for the project. While Vinod was not an engineer by training, he was passionate about the brand "Banyan Tree" and understood its vision, being an advertising professional. He was always committed to ensuring that commercial considerations did not cannibalize on the architectural and design aesthetics and in many ways therefore contributed to the final consumer experience at the RAK property being up to the Banyan Tree consumer expectations."
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