The small Emirate Ras al-Khaimah continues its growth course in tourism, officials said at ITB Berlin 2013.

The tourism authoriy of the small United Arab Emirate announced that up to the end of the year, three new hotels in the upper segment opening, including a Waldorf Astoria, Hilton's top brand and one of the most luxurious hotels in the world.

"There are so far only resort in Ras al-Khaimah," says Victor Louis, COO of tourism investment and development authority by Ras al-Khaimah. In spite of the high level brands, the Emirate at a more favourable price level wants to place as Dubai. Louis: "We offer a similar product, but almost 50 percent cheaper."

In the long term, 9000 beds are planned. The emirate has just entered the industry, the growth rates are still imposing: Between 2010 and 2012 visitors numbers doubled.

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Roland Wildberg is Travel Writer and Correspondent based in Berlin, Germany. He started as an Editor for the National daily 'Die Welt' (tourism section), later on switched to a freelanced career and nowadays mainly publishes on the Web. Observing the hospitality industry always has fascinated him as it looks like the perfect combination of sleeping and writing – work-live-balance as its best.

Roland also heads the annual 4Hoteliers ITB Berlin news micro-site journalist and video/photo teams for the 5th consecutive year.