Ras Al Khaimah wins Middle East’s Leading Adventure Destination 2018’ award

Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAKTDA) has celebrated two major wins at The World Travel Awards 2018.
Time Aerospace thumbnail

 

RAKTDA took home the accolode for ‘Middle East’s Leading Adventure Destination 2018’ largely thanks to its product innovation including the opening of the Via Ferrata and Jebel Jais Flight: The World’s Longest Zipline. Toro Verde, the operator of Jebel Jais Flight also walked away with the gong for ‘Middle East’s Leading Adventure Tourist Attraction 2018’.

Jebel Jais Flight is the latest tourism product aimed at attracting the adventure tourist to the UAE’s northern most Emirate.   At 2.83km long it is officially certified as the world’s longest zipline and the bucket list experience is attracting visitors from all over the world.  With Ras Al Khaimah’s diverse landscape featuring the Hajar Mountains and Jebel Jais, the UAE’s highest peak prime for adventure, the zipline follows other highly successful adventure tourism initiatives including the Jebel Jais Via Ferrata (Iron Path), hiking and climbing routes.

Haitham Mattar, CEO, Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Developmet Authority said, “This is tremendous news because it recognizes a sector of our tourism proposition that is fundamental to the growth of Ras Al Khaimah as a global destination. This award helps to shed light on the work we are doing to diversify our offer and attract a broader range of visitors who have different wants and needs on their holiday.  The adventure tourism market is expected to grow by 46% by 2020 and with our natural assets we are well placed to capitalize on this trend and further establish our reputation as the adventure tourism hub of the region.”

Visitor arrivals to Ras Al Khaimah were up 19% in 2017, with prevalent growth from international markets.  Germany, Russia, United Kingdom and India respectively were Ras Al Khaimah’s largest source markets last year with emerging markets such as Poland and Czech Republic also seeing significant growth.