• Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAKTDA) has partnered with The George Washington University International Institute of Tourism Studies to launch the 2018 Ras Al Khaimah Adventure Travel & Sports Innovation Challenge during the UAE Innovation Week
• The challenge is designed to engage university students in designing plans for innovative athletic events that will draw tourists to the region and position it as a leading adventure travel destination.

RAKTDA in partnership with the George Washington University’s International Institute of Tourism Studies (GW) in Washington DC today launched the 2018 Ras Al Khaimah Adventure Travel & Sports Innovation Challenge during UAE Innovation Week.

The initiative invites students from across the globe to develop innovative and sustainable ways of growing adventure tourism and making the Emirate the world’s leading destination for thrill-seeking travellers.

Powered through crowdsourcing platform, HeroX, students will be challenged to identify athletic events that could be developed in Ras Al Khaimah.

Adventure and sports events have been instrumental to the success of many of the world’s best-known adventure tourism destinations, and Ras Al Khaimah is looking to follow in their footsteps and put the Emirate firmly on the adventure travel map.

The Challenge will run from February to September 2018. Proposals will be judged by a panel of international tourism experts and the senior leadership at​ ​RAKTDA. Two members of the winning team will travel to Ras Al Khaimah to present their ​proposal​ at a World Tourism Day conference scheduled for 27th September 2018.

Haitham Mattar, CEO of Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAKTDA) said: “Over the last two years, we’ve focused on the development of our adventure tourism product on and around Jebel Jais, the UAE’s highest mountain.

The trekking and climbing routes on Jebel Jais Via Ferrata earned plaudits as the UAE’s most thrilling attraction and just last month we officially opened Jebel Jais Flight: The World’s Longest Zipline at an incredible 2.83km long.”

“However, to truly propel Ras Al Khaimah into the major league of global adventure tourism we need to continue to innovate and crowdsourcing great ideas from the best millennial minds is one of the ways we’re doing that.

Of course, we can imagine a whole host of ways to continue the development of our outdoor adventure sports offer but asking students from across the globe gives us a whole new perspective and we hope we’ll be able to bring their ideas to life in Ras Al Khaimah.

It is a great honour to launch this exciting project with the George Washington University’s International Institute of Tourism Studies during the UAE Innovation Week and we very much look forward to hearing the student’s concepts and recommendations in September.”

“This challenge is designed to support the adventure tourism development goals of RAKTDA and promote the destination to a global audience,” explained International Institute of Tourism Studies Executive Director Seleni Matus. “We’re looking for students from all over the world to discover, test and scale breakthrough tourism-related innovations and demonstrate how sustainable tourism can support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.”

Said International Institute of Tourism Studies instructor Chris Seek, who helped to design the challenge: “Ras Al Khaimah has spectacular natural assets, ideal for the sustainable development of adventure tourism, and we are looking forward to working closely with RAKTDA to help this Emirate realise it’s incredible global potential.”

For students and ​u​niversities interested in getting involved with the Ras Al Khaimah Adventure Travel & Sports Innovation Challenge visit: https://www.herox.com/ras-al-kaimah-innovation-challenge2018.