Ras Al Khaimah Providing Stranded Ukrainian Tourists Free Hotel Stays

Given the rising Russia-Ukraine tensions, the Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority has notified hotels in the Emirate that they must give free hotel accommodations to tourists of Ukrainian nationality who stayed with them from February 24-28.

“Our utmost priority is the well-being and safety of all our valued visitors, regardless of nationality or country of residence,” a representative of Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority told The National on Saturday.

“Within this context, the authority has provided Ukrainian guests staying in Ras Al Khaimah with full board accommodation, inclusive of food and beverage and other amenities,” the representative said.

The deal is only valid for existing hotel guests and is only available for a limited time. However, hotel administrators verified that it did not apply to new visitors checking into the emirate’s hotels.

Per the tourism administration, roughly 10,000 individuals from Ukraine visit Ras Al Khaimah each year, and according to the spokesperson, more than 500 tourists are presently stranded in the UAE’s northernmost emirates, unable to return home because of the conflict.

As the strike began last Thursday, the government closed its airspace to civilians, and flights from the UAE to places around Ukraine were halted.

To avoid Ukrainian airspace, UAE airlines have redirected flights to the United States, Sweden, and Russia. Services to Russia’s Krasnodar, Moscow, and Rostov-on-Don have been canceled by low-cost carriers flydubai and Wizz Air Abu Dhabi.

Ras Al Khaimah is a popular holiday resort for visitors from Europe’s second-largest country, known for its adventure options. This isn’t the first time the authorities have provided similar assistance to the stranded. Trapped visitors from Kazakhstan were also given free accommodations in January after flights were postponed due to violent demonstrations and disturbances in the Central Asian country.