Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority Strengthens Ties With Central & Eastern Europe

Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority Strengthens Ties With Central & Eastern Europe As Region Launches Seven New Weekly Flights To The Emirates This Year

Tourism authority’s collaboration with leading tour operators in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia is the driving force behind ramped up air connectivity, chartering carrier Smartwings to deliver thousands of visitors to Ras Al Khaimah from October 2022 to April 2023

Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates, June 2022: Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAKTDA) is set to welcome thousands of visitors from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) next season having strengthened relations with several major travel companies in the region.

Seven new weekly flights will be introduced from the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia to Ras Al Khaimah International Airport from 15 October 2022 to the end of April 2023, operated by Smartwings. Working closely with the tourism authority, leading tour operators in each country will charter the flights to meet soaring tourism demand for Ras Al Khaimah, a destination sought after for its year-round sunshine, natural landscapes, unique adventure pursuits, high safety standards and world-leading hospitality brands.

The tourism authority has established strong collaborative ties with the Fischer Group in both the Czech Republic and Slovakia; Kartago Tours in Hungary and Slovakia; DER Touristik in Romania; and Exim Tours in Poland, resulting in a Smartwings charter flight schedule to Ras Al Khaimah with two weekly flights from both Poland and Romania and one weekly flight from the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia.

With Smartwings set to deliver thousands of travelers to Ras Al Khaimah during the seven-month period, it marks a significant expansion of the emirate’s air connectivity in 2022 into 2023. As a comparison, Ras Al Khaimah International Airport received more than 280 flights carrying 40,000-plus passengers in 2021, which in itself was a considerable achievement in a pandemic year.

The impact of this new flight schedule from the five CEE countries – an emerging, but rapidly growing tourism source market for Ras Al Khaimah – is made even more significant by boosting the length of stay of visitors in the emirate.

Raki Phillips, Chief Executive Officer of Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority, said: “The Central and Eastern Europe region is an increasingly important tourism market to Ras Al Khaimah and we have worked closely with leading tour operators in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia to raise awareness on what our nature emirate has to offer. We focused on strengthening these relationships during the pandemic, recognising the vital role of such partnerships to meet shared goals, including industry resilience during this challenging period. I would like to thank our CEE travel partners for demonstrating their confidence in Ras Al Khaimah and supporting the destination with a robust charter schedule. We look forward to welcoming their tourists, building on our joint achievements to further develop secondary and emerging markets.”

Jiri Jelinek, Managing Director at Fischer Group, Czech Republic, said: “With demand for winter sun destinations from the Czech Republic, as well as neighbouring countries including Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, Ras Al Khaimah, with its beautiful sandy beaches, attractive climate and leading global hotel brands, is highly sought after. Having worked in partnership with Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority to promote awareness of the emirate to our clientele and building on the overwhelming and continued success of Smartwings’ air services from Prague to Ras Al Khaimah International Airport, the time is right to make a larger commitment to a destination that delivers on its promises, from world-class tourism experiences to exemplary safety credentials.”

With more than 7,000 years of fascinating history, traditions and culture, Ras Al Khaimah promises an authentic and easily accessible Arabian experience. A haven of year-round sunshine, the emirate is home to pristine beaches, lush mangroves and terracotta dunes, as well as fertile, green oases and the highest mountain in the UAE, Jebel Jais, where adventure activities on offer range from the world’s longest zipline, Jais Flight, to the region’s longest mountain coaster, the new Jais Sledder.

Considered as the fastest growing destination in the Middle East, Ras Al Khaimah set a global benchmark by being the first city in the world to be certified safe by the ‘SafeGuard Label’ from Bureau Veritas, and to receive the ‘Safe Travels Stamp’ from the World Travel and Tourism Council.