OF THE EMIRATES
For decades, Abu Dhabi and later Dubai constituted the heart of economic activity in the UAE and the Gulf region. Recently, other emirates have stepped forward. Two particular areas come to mind - Ajman and Ras Al Khaima - where the ball is already rolling and where there is maximum potential for development
Ajman kicked off its tourism strategy in 2012. According to Al Nuaimi, the first strategic step was to focus on the legal infrastructure in the emirate. He explained that creating a regulation to classify hospitality establishments was among their biggest achievements. “The emirate suffered from the lack of this kind of classification. Investors would resort to a municipal certificate to operate and called themselves ‘five-star properties’ for example, which was not the case, most of the time. This had a negative impact on customer satisfaction and trust." Al Nuaimi said that with the new strategy, hotels and hotel apartments in the emirate grew from 22 (in 2012) to 39 currently.
Faisal Ahmed Al Nuaimi
General Manager, Department of Tourism Development, Government of Ajman
The second strategic step was choosing the right theme to launch Ajman as a touristic destination and getting the correct customer segments, which, are mainly from Central Europe, Far East Asia, and the GCC. “We started targeting families because the asset of Ajman was designed to appeal to them. This year, we fixed MICE business as our objective.” Al Nuaimi does not believe in halal being a key driver. “Many hotels boast their halal properties. I believe it is a concept that you cannot enforce as it could drive many potential clients away. We are rather focusing on the family-friendly or conservative property aspect.”
The government’s promotional strategy is evolving and investment is growing. “We started with AED 5 million (USD 1.4 million) in 2012. Currently we are investing AED 10 million (USD 2.7 million) on a yearly basis.