Ras Al Khaimah reported a surge in visitor arrivals for August especially from the GCC’s ‘weekend get-away’ market. During August 2013, Ras Al Khaimah attracted over 95,000 visitors, which represents a 28% increase in visitor numbers compared to 2012. Domestic UAE tourism accounted for almost 52% of visitors. The emirate also saw a marked increase in intra-regional travel from GCC and Middle Eastern countries including Saudi Arabia, Oman, Jordan, Qatar and Lebanon. Between January and August 2013, the emirate has attracted 723,852 visitors with UAE as the strongest source market with 232,480 visitors presenting 32.12% of total number of visitors followed by Germany, Ukraine, Russia, Italy and Czech Republic. Khalid Motik, director, Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority, explains: “Ras Al Khaimah is going from strength to strength as a tourism destination.  Varied factors such as accessibility to Dubai, world class hotel resorts and diverse natural landscapes works well for UAE and GCC residents.” Source: Travel Daily