The Finance World Magazine| Edition: March 2023

Investing in Tourism
tourists, but advertising and presenting it
as a sustainable destination establishes a
certain expectation. Organizing gatherings
like the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change’s COP2023
(Conference of Parties) will help create
this expectation. Working with hotels
on value offerings for eco-conscious
customers would also be beneficial.
According to Phillips, the mission is to
ensure that the hospitality partners get
the most out of the inventory; “We’re
talking about 50% five-star inventory.”
Setting Key Performance Indicators
(KPIs) and incentivizing partners with
benefits such as tax offsets is the key to
driving a higher average rate rather than
focusing on volume business. “During
Covid, we rebated 20% of the destination
fee to help keep hotels afloat. Now we are
adding that element into sustainability,
rewarding hotels and businesses based on
specific metrics being met,” Phillips said.
Ras Al Khaimah has the benefit of being a
growing destination, or what Phillips refers
to as a “future destination.” This provides
it the option to try something new. Ras Al
Khaimah is actively guaranteeing a more
sustainable future by spending around
$140M in 20 projects that will adhere to
these new sustainability requirements.
The Emirate has four cultural and
historical sites on the UNESCO Tentative
World Heritage List, the most of any
Emirates. It protects and repairs these
cultural assets as part of its sustainability
plan, providing interested visitors with an
alternative to congested heritage sites.
Suwaidi Pearls Farm, one of the few
farms in the UAE still harvesting pearls
by hand, and Al Jazirah Al Hamra, an old
pearling town of the Al Zaab tribe, are
already part of this effort. The Ministry
of Culture and Tourism is collaborating
with UNESCO specialists to reconstruct
the village by 2025 using traditional,
sustainable materials and to provide
curated cultural tours.
In addition, the tourism authority
organises approximately 20 community
events each year, including the RAK Fine
Arts Festival, the RAK Half Marathon,
and the DP World Tour. It also contains
programmes that assist the community
think more sustainably, such as its
Buy RAK programme for low-carbon
local suppliers, which negotiates direct
transactions for local fisherman. A
carbon-conscious event in December
will give more knowledge.
Tourism authority RAKFAM recognises
the significance of employee well-being and
has launched a number of programmes to
improve staff connectedness, community
life, and facilities. Thanks to innovative
policies focusing on employee well-being,
Great Place to Work named the tourist
authority the sixth-best workplace for
small and medium-sized businesses in
the UAE for 2022.
Ras Al Khaimah is pioneering this holistic
approach to destination management not
just because it’s the right thing to do, but
it’s being demanded by its customers,
Phillips said; “We know travellers prefer
sustainable destinations.” Ras Al Khaimah
is leading the way in pioneering a new
approach to sustainable tourism as the
globe shifts towards more sustainable
kinds of tourism. The emirate has become
an increasingly popular tourist destination
owing to its rich culture and magnificent
natural beauty, in addition to adopting a
proactive approach to sustainability in
recent years, developing a number of
measures to guarantee that tourism to
the region is performed in an ecologically
responsible manner.
Furthermore, announcing the update
of holiday homes system this, the Ras Al
Khaimah Tourism Development Authority
(RAKTDA) stated it intends to “simplify
the procedure for homeowners and
operators to secure licences and turn
their units into suitable holiday homes”.
The upgrades are part of the emirate’s
ongoing efforts to diversify and strengthen
its current portfolio of four- and five-star
hotels and resorts, as well as to drive a
sustainable tourist economy that benefits
its residents.
The holiday homes system is an online
registration gateway where owners and
operators may register their residential units
for short-term rentals. The technology will
also allow owners and operators to plan
inspection appointments for registered
units and give a categorization service
based on standard or luxury standards.
This will provide simple and smooth
compliance with Ras Al Khaimah’s
vacation rental rules.
116 www.thefinanceworld.com March 2023