More than 10,000 new jobs will be initiated in the hospitality sector of Ras Al Khaimah in the arriving few yet as several new hotels, including renowned hospitality brand Wynn Resorts, will open their doors.
Raki Phillips, Chief Executive Officer of Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority, said, ” In total, Ras Al Khaimah has 8,000 keys, and we are looking at 450 additional rooms this year and around 1,000 next year. We seek to double the number of rooms we have over the next five years.”
In 2023, the emirate saw the opening of Intercontinental, Hampton, and Movenpick opening their doors. Moreover, this year the emirate will have the Anantara Hotel opening in Mina Al Arab and the Sofitel Hotel opening in Al Hamra.
In addition, many big players have declared investments in Ras Al Khaimah, including Aldar, AbuDhabi National Hotels, and Emaar, which will affect the Emirate’s hospitality market.
The US-based Wynn Resorts will also open a $3.9 billion, 1,000-plus room hotel in RAK in the coming years, including a gaming area and other features.
Hence, to manage new properties, Phillips anticipates that more than 10,000 new employees should be recruited by the hotels by 2030.
2023 is the best year ever:
Ras Al Khaimah recorded a 13 percent growth in tourist numbers, reaching 1.13 million, which surpasses its figure of 2019.
He said, ” We expect 2023 to be the best-performing year ever. Different factors drive the tourism growth like the biggest mountains in the UAE, 64 Km of white sand beaches, and different elements from the newly opened hotels”.
Moreover, the emirate is also an attractive destination for adventure tourism as it hosts the longest zipline, sky tour, Jais Ladder, and hiking trails, along with others.
He further added that ” Emirate is converting into a global destination. Wynn Resorts will have an enormous impact on tourism. Hence, we believe that by the end of the decade, the emirate will be able to lure five million tourists a year.”
In the end, Phillips revealed that a master plan of the entire emirate had been developed to ensure sustainable development and that growth fits the emirate’s plans.
