Ras Al Khaimah breaks one million visitor barrier in 2018

Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority today announced its consolidated results for the full year of 2018.

The authority launched its first three-year destination strategy in 2016 outlining the vision and mission for tourism in the emirate, with the goal of attracting one million visitors to Ras Al Khaimah by 2018.

The emirate has exceeded these targets with a reported 1,072,066 visitors from domestic and key international markets choosing to stay in Ras Al Khaimah during 2018.

The Authority reported a ten per cent growth in visitors compared to 2017, led by the UAE domestic market which continues to generate 38 per cent of overall visitors.

Germany continues to be the leading international source market with 83,605 visitors, followed by Russia, with 83,531 visitors – up by a significant 17 per cent on 2017.

The third largest source market was the UK, with 63,054 visitors, up 11.5 per cent; India was fourth with 62,325 visitors, up 22 per cent; rounding out the top five was Kazakhstan with 27,168 visitors, a growth of 28 per cent.

One of Ras Al Khaimah’s key milestones in 2018 was the launch of Jebel Jais Flight, which has welcomed over 25,000 flyers since opening 12 months ago.

Haitham Mattar, chief executive of Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority said: “Last year was another remarkable year for the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah in terms of achievements and milestones accomplished, primarily exceeding our target of one million visitors.

“With the current robust visitor demand, solid regional and international partnerships in place and iconic product launches over the past few years, Ras Al Khaimah is on a mission to further assert its position as the fastest growing tourism destination in the region, while promoting our emirate’s breadth of offerings to regional and international target markets.”