Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority hosts Belgian Travel Summit

Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAKTDA) inaugurated the first edition of the Belgian Travel Summit (BTS) taking place until June 1 in the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah. The four-day summit is the first joint Congress of the Belgian trade unions of travel agencies at a national Belgium level and witnessed the attendance of the Association of Flemish Travel Agencies (VVR) and the French speaking Union Professionnelle des Agences de Voyages (UPAV).

The summit is hosting a series of plenary sessions led by industry experts and visionaries focused on four key themes: Sustainability, Education, Digitalisation, and Business Development. Key speakers include Haitham Mattar, Chief Executive Officer of Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority; Murielle Machiels, Academic Director at Solvay Brussels School; Thierry Geerts, Country Director of Google Belgium and Luxembourg; and Pieter Van Leugenhagen, co-founder of a successful Belgian start-up and International Business Development Lead at Yondr.

As part of his keynote speech, Mattar said, “We are delighted to host the first edition of the Belgian Travel Summit as we get to showcase Ras Al Khaimah’s mesmerising coastline, scenic mountains, terracotta deserts, historic forts, and some of the most diverse and enchanting landscapes in the region to key members of the Belgian travel trade industry. Our incredible experiences such as Jebel Jais Flight: The World’s Longest Zipline have already helped put Ras Al Khaimah on the world map. As we look towards our goal of 1.5 million visitors by 2021 and 3 million by 2025, it is essential to personally connect with travel professionals from our source markets to further develop our partnerships with generalist and specialised tour operators and to give travel advisors at travel agencies a real flavour of everything Ras Al Khaimah has to offer our visitors.”