2005-2008 Ras Al Khaimah, Mayan Consultants Intl

• This letter of promotion and increment was largely on the back of my contributions from 2005 till the middle of 2006. The impetus and the foundation laid were built on and grown by my successors as the press clippings show.

• RAK set to become `the next major development story in the Gulf', says Oxford Business Group report

• Ras Al Khaimah, March 27: The proactive approach of the Government of Ras Al Khaimah to diversification and investment generation is paying rich dividends and is set to turn the emirate to become `the next major development story in the Gulf', according to Oxford Business Group (OBG), the UK-based publishing, research and consultancy services company in its latest report titled `Emerging Ras Al Khaimah 2007', published as part of the `Emerging Markets Series'.

• RAK GDP grows by more than 50% over the last four years. RAK GDP which stood at Dhs7.1bn in 2003 has grown to touch Dhs11.12bn in 2006.

• "In 2006, real estate developers in Ras Al Khaimah announced the most ambitious slate of new high- rise, villa and island residential projects that the UAE has ever seen. While Dubai continues to dominate current construction activity, and Abu Dhabi has extremely large developments out for tender, investors in RAK have proposed nearly AED 60 billion worth of projects for completion before 2010," the report states.

• On the tourism front, the report states that RAK could become one of the top tourist destinations in the Gulf and the emirate hopes to attract as many as 2 million visitors by 2010 banking on "its unique attractions like UAE's longest stretch of coastline, desert landscapes, the Hajar mountains, a history stretching back to 7000 years, Bedouin culture, varied sports facilities and year- round sunshine".(Tourism figures climbed from 156,000 in 2005 to 500,000 by 2006-07 at an average occupancy level of 92% for the hotels there.)

• The study says and adds that the emirate will compliment the sector by setting up 25 new hotels that would be operational by 2010.

• Ras Al Khaimah's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has grown by more than 50% over the last four years and the fast- growing emirate, riding a wave of massive inward investments, is expected to clock an annual growth rate of over 15 % in the next few years, Ras Al Khaimah Investment Authority (Rakia) announced at the Ras Al Khaimah Conference 2008.