Ras Al-Khaimah travel tips

Las Vegas and Macau might be the world's leading casino resort destinations, but a potential third might soon join their ranks in a surprising location.

RAK National Hotels, part of RAK Hospitality Holding, continues to bolster its portfolio on Marjan Island. In its latest move, the government-backed company has acquired the Marjan Island Resort & Spa for an undisclosed price from Manazil Group.

Ramsey, an accomplished professional with academic achievements from the University of Surrey, City University London, and Cornell University in New York, contributes a wealth of two decades’ worth of experience in the premium hospitality sector.

Integrated resort operator Wynn Resorts confirmed that it would be operating a casino at its resort in Ras Al Khaimah.

The journey towards accessibility in travel starts with talking about non-access. 

The Gulf region now has more than 170,000 hotel rooms under active development, which includes planning, final planning and under construction, according to research conducted at the end of September by STR, a hotel market intelligence and global benchmarking company. This active hotel development pipeline now equals 40 percent of the Gulf region’s existing hotel room inventory, a figure almost four times greater than the global average of 11 percent. The STR report estimates 135,560 existing rooms in Saudi Arabia with an active pipeline of 82,639 rooms, with total room inventory projected for 2030, at over 218,000 rooms. Similarly for the United Arab Emirates, the research currently tracks more than 202,000 existing rooms with an active pipeline of 48,910 rooms, a combined total of almost 251,000 rooms by 2030. “Interestingly, Ras Al Khaimah, is second only to Dubai, with 5,076 rooms in its pipeline, almost the same amount as Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Fujairah combined,” said Danielle Curtis, exhibition director of Arabian Travel Market. The research had been commissioned by Arabian Travel Market.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president and prime minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai, launched the Dubai Economic Agenda — D33 with the ambitious goal of doubling the size of Dubai’s economy over the next decade. With economic targets of $8.7 trillion over the next 10 years, the agenda also aims to establish Dubai’s position among the top three global cities. A key priority of the D33 Agenda is to make Dubai one of the top three international destinations for tourism and business by providing a globally competitive environment for business and driving down the cost of doing business across a number of sectors. The agenda also includes the launch of innovative projects to help make Dubai the world’s best city to live and work in as well as drive sustainable economic growth through innovative approaches. “Dubai will rank as one of the top four global financial centers with an increase in foreign direct investment to over $177 billion over the next decade and an annual $27.2 billion contribution from digital transformation,” the Dubai ruler said.

It’s been a boom time for the hotel industry in the United Arab Emirates, as recent news items in Skift’s Daily Lodging Report have recently shown.

Wynn Resorts’ CEO said recently that efforts to secure a gaming license for the Wynn Al Marjan in United Arab Emirates’ Ras Al Khaimah is “imminent” and gave additional details.