Ras Al Khaimah, whereas specializing in main India metros, can also be partaking in co-marketing agreements with journey brokers and tour operators concentrating on secondary cities in India. Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Growth Authority (RAKTDA) has adopted a multi-pronged strategy, with a deal with sustainability, to strengthen its place within the India market. Iyad Rasbey, Government Director, Vacation spot Tourism Growth, RAKTDA shares his perspective on India.
Within the modified world situation, how vital is India as a supply marketplace for you? What was the Indian arrival numbers in 2022 and what’s your expectation from 2023?
India is an extremely vital market and is actually one in all high 5 supply markets for us at Ras Al Khaimah. In 2022, we welcomed over 140,000 Indian guests to the emirate and we’re optimistic concerning the potential development in arrivals to our vacation spot this 12 months. Because the Indian market turns into extra acquainted with the vacation spot, and with direct connectivity from Mumbai by way of Indigo airways and our fixed efforts to strengthen our ties with this market, we consider that Ras Al Khaimah will stay a preferred selection for Indian vacationers looking for an unforgettable trip expertise.
What promotional and advertising and marketing actions have you ever deliberate for India market to faucet the brand new age travellers?
Now we have deliberate a number of promotional and advertising and marketing actions concentrating on 28 cities that can permit us to succeed in out to a receptive journey viewers and engaged commerce companions to showcase the distinctive experiences that Ras Al Khaimah has to supply.
Considered one of our key methods is to deal with digital advertising and marketing, which has develop into more and more vital in right this moment’s world. Now we have made certain that our web site, social media channels, and advertising and marketing collaterals are all digital-first, making it simpler for the brand new age traveler to find Ras Al Khaimah’s choices. We additionally plan to launch a devoted web page catering to the Indian market on social media, which is able to permit us to interact with Indian vacationers instantly and share details about the vacation spot’s points of interest, experiences, and occasions.
As well as, we’re additionally partaking in co-marketing agreements with journey brokers and tour operators concentrating on secondary cities in India. We consider that these partnerships will allow us to succeed in out to a wider viewers and showcase our vacation spot’s distinctive promoting factors.
Lastly, we have now an lively calendar numerous commerce reveals, webinars, roadshows, and exhibitions to attach with the Indian journey commerce and create consciousness concerning the Emirate’s choices. These occasions will present us with a possibility to attach and community with key stakeholders and decision-makers within the Indian journey trade and showcase our vacation spot’s various array of choices.
What’s the digital advertising and marketing roadmap for this 12 months?
Previous to sketching out our 2023 digital advertising and marketing roadmap, it was crucial for us to determine final 12 months’s successes and report any rising and ongoing digital advertising and marketing and social media tendencies to use in our technique this 12 months. Talking with main artistic and content material company Stunning Locations and its founder Jeremy Jauncey, we all know that 65% of millennial and Gen Z shoppers consider their digital id is extra vital than their bodily one. Of those, 90% will guide journey primarily based on what they see on social media. We additionally discovered that vertical, short-form video frames – constituting 57% of all worldwide video performs final 12 months – have been useful in attracting viewers consideration and retaining their curiosity. We witnessed the success of such modern content material first-hand with our mega-successful vacation spot advertising and marketing marketing campaign, #RAKCalling, that launched final 12 months. Garnering 25.95M digital video views, together with huge viewership on our short-form movies, proved that the format is certainly useful and can proceed to kind a key part of our upcoming methods and campaigns.
How is the event on tourism and associated infrastructure entrance?
An vital step in driving Ras Al Khaimah’s continued development as a vacation spot of the long run is remaining laser-focused on accountable, purpose-driven and targeted developments.
As a part of our thought-about improvement planning, we shall be working with sustainably minded resort manufacturers, akin to Nobu, Marriott, Sofitel, Anantara and the eagerly awaited Wynn resort.
Since these developments have been introduced, we have now obtained extra funding curiosity – together with acquisitions from Aldar Properties of the Doubletree by Hilton Resort & Spa and an adjoining beachfront plot, following its acquisitions of Al Hamra Mall and Rixos Bab Al Bahr earlier this 12 months. That is along with current acquisitions from Marjan Hospitality of two massive beachfront plots on Marjan Island.
Lastly, we’re investing within the Cultural Conservation of our 4 UNESCO heritage websites – Julphar, Shimal, Dhayah Fort and Al Jazeerah Al Hamra – main with a multi-phased refurbishment of Al Jazeerah Al Hamra, the last-surviving pearl fishing village of its form within the Arabian Gulf.
What kind of world greatest practices are you planning to undertake on sustainability and inexperienced fronts this 12 months?
Sustainability is crucial to reaching development and is on the coronary heart of every little thing we’re doing at Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Growth Authority. It’s our imaginative and prescient to develop into a regional chief in sustainable tourism by 2025. Our purpose is to use sustainability to every little thing we do to nurture a tourism trade that’s economically, environmentally and socially sustainable, and helps high quality of life for our residents and workforce.
Nature and our wide-open areas are the calling card of our vacation spot and so as to defend our distinctive pure surroundings and native communities, we’re dedicated to making sure that there is no such thing as a over tourism in Ras Al Khaimah. For instance, we have now a adopted a measured strategy with a managed pipeline of motels, which is able to characteristic huge landscaping and grounds, and have dedicated USD 136 million funding to make sure we’re growing points of interest with objective that can improve our pure surroundings.
We’re additionally implementing a collection of sustainability measurement and certification programmes, with an intention to reaffirm tourism’s potential as a power for good. Vital progress has already been made in direction of reaching this, with the Authority receiving the EarthCheck Bronze Certification and enlisting 30 motels and points of interest into the programme to co-create sustainable practices and guarantee widespread benchmarking. Now we have additionally launched a Tourism Enterprise Accreditation Program with the intention to offer a administration framework to assist particular person companies develop their sustainability efforts as a way of benchmarking their efficiency. It’s anticipated that over 20 companies will obtain tourism certifications within the first 12 months of this system. Moreover, we have now launched the Vacation spot Certification Program, with the last word purpose of acquiring the internationally recognised “Sustainable Tourism Vacation spot” certificates for Ras Al Khaimah in 2023.
This sustainable strategy to improvement is the cornerstone of our ambition to draw 3 million guests by 2030.
Any issue that’s hindering the expansion from India…
India is an unlimited nation with 28 states and vital geographic unfold. To really unlock the potential of the Indian market, we’re increasing our attain to extra cities.
We see nice potential for development within the hospitality sector in Ras Al Khaimah, significantly with the introduction of latest resort manufacturers and vacation spot marriage ceremony venues. The emirate has seen a surge in resort improvement lately, with many worldwide resort manufacturers establishing a presence right here. Now we have additionally witnessed a major enhance within the demand for vacation spot weddings, and Ras Al Khaimah is well-positioned to cater to this market. Our gorgeous pure landscapes, lovely seashores, and world-class resort properties make us an excellent vacation spot for {couples} looking for a novel marriage ceremony expertise.
By persevering with to draw new resort manufacturers and rising our vacation spot marriage ceremony choices, we’re assured that Ras Al Khaimah will stay a preferred selection for vacationers from India. These developments not solely present alternatives for development within the hospitality sector but in addition contribute to the general development of the tourism trade and the economic system of the emirate.
One other issue is direct air connectivity to Ras Al Khaimah from extra cities throughout India. This won’t solely make it simpler for travellers to go to our vacation spot however may even assist us attain a wider viewers. We consider that rising the variety of direct flights from extra cities throughout India may doubtlessly ease journey from a number of places and drive development from the Indian market.
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