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Beyond A Journey is the name of Ras Al Khaimah’s latest promotional video – recently launched to reposition the brand to showcase its more traditional side compared with some of its Middle Eastern neighbours.
And a journey it has certainly been. Since hosting the ITT Conference in 2015, the destination has boosted UK visitor numbers by 24%, making it the second largest market after Germany, with India now third.
The emirate’s tourism team went to London last month to showcase the new video to 300 travel trade professionals at London’s May Fair Hotel, where Haitham Mattar, chief executive of Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority, updated the audience on the latest developments.
A marketing war chest is in place, as Mattar revealed he was ready to help fund new campaigns, with deals already in place with Thomas Cook and Cox & Kings. “The UK is a loyal and resilient market,” he added.
He also highlighted new projects, including an eco-friendly Anantara to be built over a marine reserve. News of the world’s longest zip wire at Jebel Jais, the UAE’s tallest peak, is sure to excite thrill seekers. And the Cove Rotana Resort is expanding, with 124 rooms and suites, a new restaurant, pool and bar, and a kids’ club and pool arriving by spring 2017.
Omer Kaddouri, Rotana’s president and chief executive, told TTG he was confident that RAK’s new brand strategy would “ignite the UK’s aspiration to holiday in the emirate”.
“We share the tourist board’s vision for the future and we are expanding the resort, which will enable us to entice some of the one million visitors anticipated [by RAK] by the end of 2018,” he said.
Mattar also spoke of the destination’s restorative qualities, with hot springs and a claim to fame as one of the darkest places on earth. “For me, seeing stars is remedial,” he added.
It would be easy to develop haute cuisine restaurants in RAK, but nearby Dubai has already done that in abundance, Mattar noted. Instead, he said: “We want to bring the flavours of Arabia. Our goal is not to continue to attract these food outlets, but [promote] farm-to-table.”
As well as impressing the London audience, the Beyond a Journey cinematic short won bronze in the best video category at the 37th Annual Telly Awards, which saw 13,000 entries from 50 countries.
The aim now is for Beyond a Journey to work its movie magic across the UK, enticing audiences to book their next holiday to the up-and-coming emirate.
