Phillipa Harrison
As competition for Middle Eastern tourism dollars intensifies, Ras Al Khaimah is betting on a mix of AI-driven marketing and "future-ready" infrastructure to secure its piece of the market. Following a record 2025 that saw 1.35 million visitors, the emirate’s tourism chief is now pivoting toward ultra-luxury source markets in Asia and Europe to sustain double-digit revenue growth.
In an interview with Travel Daily Media, Phillipa Harrison, CEO, Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAKTDA) shares more
Travel Daily Media (TDM): What is your vision as the CEO of RAKTDA for the further development of tourism in Ras Al Khaimah?
Phillipa Harrison (PH): Ras Al Khaimah is undergoing a transformation, evolving from a regional tourism gem into a globally competitive, future-ready destination that delivers long-term economic value and meaningful benefits for the community. This next phase of growth will be supported by transformational developments and an expanding hotel pipeline with landmark projects such as the Wynn Al Marjan Island – the region’s first integrated resort at USD 5.1 billion foreign direct investment, which is set to open in 2027. It will also be shaped by major master-planned developments like Marjan Beach – an 85-million-square-foot coastal masterplan – and RAK Central, an 8.37 million sq. ft. mixed-use district designed as a vibrant ‘Work-Live-Play’ destination. What this means is that we are no longer in a phase of incremental growth. In the next couple of years, we are entering a clear step change in visitation, quality, and global relevance.
Our priority as we go through this transformation is to elevate how Ras Al Khaimah is positioned and how its story is told by shaping a clear and authentic narrative of what the destination offers, from natural landscapes and authentic heritage to world-class attractions and exceptional hospitality. This brand elevation is an essential step that will help us shift perceptions, attract higher-value travellers, and unlock new source markets and segments.
Looking ahead, our ambition is to exceed 3.5 million visitors by 2030. Ultimately, our goal is not just to grow visitation, but to shape a resilient, high-quality destination – one that creates lasting value for residents, visitors and investors alike.
TDM: How do you feel you will be able to utilise your knowledge and leadership experience, especially with other tourism boards, to promote a destination with a completely different terrain?
PH: While the landscape may be different, the fundamentals of destination development and promotion remain consistent. It comes down to clarity of positioning, clarity of your target customer and source markets – ensuring your message cuts through in a competitive global tourism market – and strong partnerships to help convert the demand you create into visitation.
My experience working with other tourism boards has shown how important it is to translate a destination’s unique assets into stories and connection points that resonate internationally and convert into real travel demand. At RAKTDA, the role is to ensure Ras Al Khaimah’s strengths, from its mountains and coastline to its desert landscapes, heritage, adventure experiences and growing luxury ecosystem, are communicated clearly and supported by the right distribution channels. The objective is to achieve sustainable, high-value growth that strengthens the Emirate’s long-term global profile.
TDM: How many tourists did Ras Al Khaimah receive in 2025? How many of them were from Asia? Which destinations/tourist attractions are popular with India and overall Asian tourists visiting Ras Al Khaimah?
PH: In 2025, Ras Al Khaimah welcomed 1.35 million overnight visitors, representing a 6 percent year-on-year increase alongside 12 percent growth in tourism revenues. Asia continues to be one of the strongest growth regions, with India recording 14 percent growth in arrivals and China growing by 19 percent. What stands out is how different traveller segments are engaging with the destination. Adventure travellers are drawn to Jebel Jais and outdoor experiences at the UAE’s highest mountain, such as ziplining, hiking and camping. Families respond well to all-inclusive beachfront resorts, speciality dining and immersive local experiences such as Suwaidi Pearl Farm, along with shopping and lifestyle offerings. Couples are increasingly choosing Ras Al Khaimah’s luxury resorts for milestone celebrations, including honeymoons, proposals and destination weddings, which reflects the destination’s growing premium appeal.
TDM: Which are your main inbound tourism markets? What are your targets for 2026? What are your main outbound markets?
PH: The strongest inbound markets in 2025 included the CIS region, the United Kingdom, Germany, India and China, along with Central and Eastern Europe. We saw particularly strong growth from Romania at 41 percent, Poland at 22 percent, Uzbekistan at 19 percent and Belarus at 26 percent, supported by better air connectivity and rising destination awareness.
For 2026, we will be building on growing awareness of our destination in Asia and have increased our focus on India and China in particular. We will accelerate this momentum by continuing to expand aviation access and encouraging higher-value visitation with longer lengths of stay, especially across premium leisure, MICE and weddings.
TDM: How well is Ras Al Khaimah connected to Asia? Which new airlines have started plying from there recently?
PH: Ras Al Khaimah’s connectivity into Asia has strengthened significantly through a combination of direct regional services and strong one-stop access via international hubs like Dubai International Airport, which is just a 45-minute drive from Ras Al Khaimah.
India remains one of our strongest directly connected markets. We currently have direct flights into Ras Al Khaimah from Mumbai, Kochi, Hyderabad and Lucknow, supported by strong airline partnerships with IndiGo, Air India Express and Air Arabia. East and Southeast Asian cities are connected from key gateways via global aviation hubs in the UAE and carriers such as Emirates, Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Korean Air and China Eastern.
Beyond Asia, Ras Al Khaimah International Airport also expanded its direct international footprint in 2025 with new routes to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia; Warsaw and Katowice in Poland; Bucharest in Romania; Moscow, Kazan and Yekaterinburg in Russia; Minsk in Belarus; Tashkent in Uzbekistan; and Prague in the Czech Republic, helping diversify source markets and extend seasonal demand.
Looking ahead, the planned LEED Gold–targeted VIP private aviation terminal at Ras Al Khaimah International Airport, scheduled to open in 2027, will further strengthen premium, business and private aviation connectivity and support higher-value tourism growth.
TDM: How are you utilising tech and AI in further promoting Ras Al Khaimah?
PH: Technology and AI increasingly play an important role in how we promote Ras Al Khaimah and engage with travellers more effectively. Working with leading travel platforms, we leverage AI-driven insights and behaviour-based targeting for precision marketing to reach high-intent audiences with more relevant messaging and improve conversion across key markets.
At the same time, we are investing in the foundations of an AI-ready destination. We are constantly developing our official destination website visitrasalkhaimah.com into a structured, authoritative data hub that can be easily interpreted by large language models and AI-powered travel tools, ensuring Ras Al Khaimah is accurately and consistently represented across emerging discovery and planning platforms. Alongside this, partnerships with technology leaders such as Huawei are helping us explore smart tourism solutions for more personalised, tech-enabled visitor experiences.
Ultimately though, we need to remember that there is a person at the other end and our primary focus is on relevance to them, regardless of the channel or technology.
TDM: RAKTDA hopes to attract 3.5 million+ tourists by 2030. Going forward, what will be the essence of your branding and marketing strategy for 2026?
PH: The focus for 2026 is really about scaling Ras Al Khaimah’s global visibility while protecting the quality of our growth. We are continuing to sharpen our destination positioning and differentiation across adventure, culture, luxury, MICE and weddings, while expanding our hotel inventory with new luxury brands coming into the Emirate, including Janu, Four Seasons, Fairmont, Taj Hotels and The Luxury Collection, as part of our ambition to double hotel keys by 2030.
We are also leveraging developments such as the Wynn Al Marjan Island to drive international awareness and premium demand. At the same time, we have deepened strategic partnerships with luxury travel networks like Virtuoso and Serandipians, as well as major OTAs, to strengthen our luxury positioning and distribution reach.
Another important growth engine is MICE and weddings, which delivered 25% revenue growth in 2025. With a strong pipeline of new hotel inventory coming online, we are well positioned to attract larger-scale weddings and business events in the coming years. Ultimately, the objective is to grow responsibly and building long-term global brand equity as Ras Al Khaimah moves toward its 2030 ambition.
