Ras Al Khaimah has signed an agreement with Cox & Kings Ltd., the leading tour operator from India, to strengthen its relationship and expand its presence in the Indian market, which is one of the fastest outbound markets in the region. This agreement will focus on promoting the various aspects of Ras Al Khaimah and popularize it in the Indian market. The agreement, signed Wednesday (April 27) at Arabian Travel Market (ATM), is aimed at increasing tourism arrivals to Ras Al Khaimah from India. The partnership, which will take effect from May 1, 2016, will also introduce Ras Al Khaimah to the Indian market through specially created itineraries, creation of stand alone tourism products for the emirate and market the destination via a series of campaigns and training programs for Cox & Kings staff. India has already cemented its position as one of the emirate's leading source markets with an 80 percent increase in visitors year-on-year (2014-2015). Haitham Mattar, CEO of Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority, said: "Following our revised strategies and Vision to reach one million visitors by the end of 2018, we will be announcing a number of partnerships such as this. Air India Express has already launched new routes to the emirate and our agreement with Cox & Kings will ensure we're making the destination as accessible as ever. We are proud to begin a long relationship with such an established travel company within one of our top source markets. India offers an important contribution towards our overall visitor figures and we keen to progress this opportunity to target Indian travelers even further." Ashutosh Mehere, Sr. Vice President, Alliances & Special Projects, Cox & Kings Ltd., said: "Ras Al Khaimah offers the Indian traveler an opportunity to explore a new destination. We will focus on promoting the destination aggressively in the Indian market and create packages that are affordable and capture the essence of the destination.'' — SG
