Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) Tourism Development Authority has entered into an agreement with Coral Travel, a major Russian tour operator to launch new charter flights from Moscow.

According to the agreement, from October 29, 2013 until March 29, 2014, charter flights operated by Ural Airlines will arrive every Tuesday and Friday from Moscow’s Domodedovo International Airport bringing 12,000 additional Russian visitors to the UAE, from which 8,000 will be accommodated in hotels in Ras Al Khaimah.

The first flight touched down at Ras Al Khaimah International Airport on October 29 at 1:30pm with 220 travellers arriving from Moscow. Each passenger was welcomed by the RAK Tourism Development Authority team (RAK TDA) and received a welcome gift before heading to hotels to commence their holiday.

Khalid Motik, director of RAK TDA, said: “Russia is a key source market for Ras Al Khaimah, accounting for around 18 per cent of the visitors to the emirate.  This agreement demonstrates RAK TDA’s commitment to continue strengthening our ties with Russia in years to come, and brings us one step closer to our main objective of increasing our visitor numbers to 1.2 million by the end of 2013.”

Known as the “rising emirate”, Ras Al Khaimah’s visitor numbers are growing year on year as it fast establishes itself as a global premium luxury destination with an impressive portfolio of luxurious hotels and resorts, including the Waldorf Astoria Ras Al Khaimah, which recently opened and marked the entry of this Hilton Worldwide brand in the UAE.

Between January and September 2013, the emirate recorded 815,620 visitors to its hotels, generating a revenue boost of almost of $113 million. Ras Al Khaimah TDA forecasts that, by the end of the year, the emirate will have welcome 200,000 Russian tourists during 2013.

The first Russian charter flight Ras Al Khaimah TDA welcomed to the emirate took place in October 2012, as part of the agreement signed with Pegas Touristik in cooperation with Orenair & Nordwind Airlines.

This saw a weekly charter flight from Syktyvkar and weekly charter flight from Kemerovo between October 2012 and mid-February 2013. By December 10, 2012 it had brought to Ras Al Khaimah airport 1,708 Russian tourists, providing approximately 5,900 room nights in a number of premium hotels and resorts across the emirate.

The total arrivals of charter flights with Russian visitors to Ras Al Khaimah’s airport rank at 2,996 passengers, resulting in an average of 10,691 room nights. – TradeArabia News Service