UAE’s Ras Al Khaimah Faces Hard Balance Between Tourism Ambitions and Sustainability
Photo Credit: Ras Al Khaimah has mapped out steps needed to secure long-term sustainability targets. Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority
Skift Take
Even as it calls itself a nature-based emirate, Ras Al Khaimah is keen to earn the reputation of being a leading meetings, incentive, conference and event hub. The emirate is adopting a measured approach with a controlled pipeline of sustainable development to help strike a balance.
Ras Al Khaimah, part of the United Arab Emirates, is pushing ahead with bold and ambitious tourism projects — but do they align with its own sustainable tourism destination strategy that it launched in September 2021?
The emirate mapped out the steps needed to secure long-term sustainability targets, but cascading this down to operations, policy and implementation won’t be easy, particularly given its track record of hosting events and conferences with limited or no link to the strategy.
Take the previous annual conventions of the German Travel Association, the Outbound Tour Operators Association of India, as well as the Arab Aviation Summit and the Gulf and Indian Ocean Hotel Investors’ Summit, for example.
In October, Ras Al Khaimah will host the Pacific Asia Travel Association Annual Summit, while further ahead casino giant Wynn Resorts will open a 1,000-room luxury hotel with a “gaming” area.
The emirate’s extensiv
