Raki Phillips, Ras Al Khaimah's tourism chief, is also skilled in sandwich design

Gulf News

Raki Phillips knows a thing or two about hotels and destination creation – and he can even do sandwich design if it comes to that.   As CEO of Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority, these disparate skills can always come in handy in a job profile that sees Philips add more substance to the emirate’s status as a destination for all. There is the $3.9 billion deal with Las Vegas-based Wynn Resorts for a 1,500-plus-key resort on Al Marjan Island. And by the end of this decade, Ras Al Khaimah should welcome 3 million tourists and increase the number of hotel rooms to over 16,000 from its current 8,000.  Read the full story here: https://gulfnews.com/business/tourism/watch-ras-al-khaimah-tourism-chief-raki-philips-knows-a-thing-or-two-about-sandwich-designs-too-1.96562426  See more videos at https://gulfnews.com/videos Read more Gulf News stories here: https://bit.ly/2HLJ2km  Subscribe to Gulf News on YouTube and watch more of our videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/GulfNewsTV  #UAEnews #rasalkhaimah #tourism

Transcript

00:00Hi, my name is Rocky Phillips. I'm the CEO of Roscoe Cramer Tourism Development Authority. I'm an American.

00:05My mother is Lebanese-Argentinian, my dad's American, and I'm from Orlando, Florida.

00:10But I've been in the UAE for over 16 years, and I consider this home for me.

00:15Met my wife here. All three of my kids were born in the UAE, and I moved here because of my ambition to be a

00:22hotelier and to work in the tourism sector.

00:25There is no better place in the world than the UAE for the growth and momentum that this country has done from a tourism perspective.

00:33So it's a funny story. I was in New York, and I was walking in Manhattan around the Flatiron Building.

00:38There was a poster from top to bottom with the picture of Virgil Arab and Emirates Airlines,

00:43and it said, Fly Emirates. And ever since then, this was probably the early 2000s,

00:49I decided this was the place that I wanted to end up in.

00:52So by the end of the decade, as much as I'd love to see flying cars throughout the Emirates, more realistically,

00:58we are going to have a wonderful offering to our tourists.

01:02Everything from incredible integrated resorts, some wonderful attractions that signify culture,

01:09that signify adventure, and that signify sustainability.

01:13Those three pillars are going to be critical to the growth of the Emirates.

01:17And you know, we're blessed in Ras al-Khaimah with the nature of the highest mountain in the UAE,

01:21with Jebel Jais, 64 kilometers of white sand beach, and then our beautiful desert topography.

01:27This Emirates in the next decade is going to be truly a beast in tourism globally.

01:32You know, in my career, I've had over 20 years of experience.

01:36I started in the hotel business when I was 19 years old.

01:39So really, this is all I know how to do.

01:42I think what's so important is to continue driving with passion.

01:46And when things seem like they're not working out,

01:50there is the pathway that gets you to where you need to.

01:53And throughout my career, I've worked in some incredible places from Mecca to Kenya to Jaipur,

01:59India, to Egypt, to Abu Dhabi, and obviously in the UAE and Orlando, Florida, my hometown.

02:05And every single step of my career has led me to where I am today.

02:09And there were times where I'm like, what am I doing here?

02:11But if you believe and you put the time and effort into it, it leads you to exactly where you need to be.

02:17Patience and passion are really the two drivers.

02:20And learning how to pivot with circumstances as they come on board and adapt is a great pathway to success in this industry.

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