How the Wynn Resort Will Shape the Future of UAE Tourism & Dubai Investment Opportunities

Dubai has long been the spotlight for global real estate investors, but just 45 minutes up the coast, Ras Al Khaimah is now commanding international attention. The Wynn Resort has secured the UAE's first commercial gaming license. A second Wynn property is in motion, and top developers like Ellington are expanding. For investors, this signals a new chapter of opportunity. On today's episode of The Dubai Connect podcast, I'm joined by my colleague Ahmed and by Abdul Latif, the pleasant Abdul Latif from Ellington Properties, who has been with us before. Together, we'll take you through Ras Al Khaimah in two parts. In part one, we're going to explore the emirate itself. What sets Ras Al Khaimah apart from Dubai? The industries fueling its growth, government support, population trends, and how Wynn is reshaping investor sentiment. And then in part two, we'll dive more into Ellington's role in Ras Al Khaimah and why they chose Al Marjan Island, Al Hamra, and how their first projects are performing, who's buying, and how Ellington is positioning itself in the luxury property market here. Welcome to season 6 of The Dubai Connect podcast, a top-ranked Dubai real estate show. I'm your host, GG Benitez, a certified international property specialist and a licensed realtor connecting global investors with prime real estate opportunities in Dubai's thriving market. I feel like I had to threaten you to show up. Beautiful thread, yes, it works. Hello Abdullah. Thank you. First of all, what a beautiful introduction. I really liked it. Thank you Ahmed again. Welcome. It's always a pleasure to have you, Abdul Latif. You have no idea how excited Gigi and I get when we know that your presence will be here. Thank you. And I hope today will be a very useful podcast for all the viewers out there, especially locally and internationally. Indeed, agreed. In fact, I mean on the podcast, surprisingly, when I first started doing this, Abdul Latif, I was catering mostly to Americans, but it's grown, right? My investor base has grown. We're seeing a lot of UK investors and European investors, of course, Canadians and Americans. And there's a question that I'm asked often, right? We know Dubai, we've talked about it. We know Dubai is one of the hottest markets in the world. But there have been some announcements recently out of Ras Al Khaimah with Wynn now acquiring another property and what I have investors ask me specifically is if they're going to invest in Ras Al Khaimah or Dubai, why or why not? And I'll start off with one question. We know that Ras Al Khaimah just hit record tourist numbers last year, right? And what were the numbers? What are they expected to reach? Almost up to 5 million for 2030. 5.6 million exactly. By 2030. And is that all because of the Wynn casino, you think, or was it already... One factor of many, many other factors. That's important to understand as well. It's not just because of the casino, but the casino has really brought global attention. Exactly, right, correct. So actually, what are the industries in Ras Al Khaimah? What does drive Ras Al Khaimah? First of all, have you heard of "habibi, come to Dubai"? Of course. The next one is habibi, come to Ras Al Khaimah. I love it, I love it. Exactly. So you mentioned earlier that the travel distance to Ras Al Khaimah is 45 minutes, right? Up to one hour. Depends how fast you drive, right? I reach in 40 minutes with some flashes, of course. Please drive safely. But two days ago, I saw an announcement that air taxis are going to be operating until Ras Al Khaimah with a travel distance of 15 minutes by 2027. Exactly, 15 minutes, 15 minutes. This is one part of the government plan in Ras Al Khaimah. Actually, Ras Al Khaimah government has a plan to spend 500 billion dirham to grow Ras Al Khaimah and many many other industries like tourism, real estate, logistics, construction, everything. Um, Abdul Latif, I've even heard, just a few days ago, that Ras Al Khaimah government is actually expanding its airport as well. They're adding more terminals. Four more terminals. Exactly. So the whole idea, I remember Gigi and I used to discuss, was at the end of the day, no matter how many people will come to visit Ras Al Khaimah, they have to stop by Dubai first. But it seems like that's not going to be the case anymore. They're trying to have people directly come and land over there by expanding their airport. Did you guys hear that? I had heard about the airport. I was fascinated by the taxi situation. And I've seen you driving. I've seen your little videos about driving to Ras Al Khaimah. And for those who don't know, right, Ras Al Khaimah is another emirate of the UAE. The UAE is made up of seven emirates. Although in the United States, people think that Dubai is the country, Dubai is a city and emirate. And Ras Al Khaimah is quickly growing. I would say Abu Dhabi is already very, very well known also to a different investment group. So actually to that same point, what would you say is the landscape in Ras Al Khaimah right now, aside from the casino, and we will get into that? What draws people to Ras Al Khaimah? Ras Al Khaimah, first of all, if we're going to speak about Ras Al Khaimah, let's see some numbers as well, right? It's not just because of the gaming license and the Wynn resorts and all this stuff. Today Ras Al Khaimah has four ports already. As you mentioned, the airport is expanding. They are acquiring more plots for the airports. There will be more terminals as I read before. And today we have one of the biggest companies already operating from Ras Al Khaimah. I'll give you an example: RAK Ceramics, right? It's one of the biggest ceramic manufacturing ceramics in the world. Correct. Then in the pharmacy sector, you have Julphar and many, many other companies. Q1 2025, Ras Al Khaimah registered more than 3,800 companies in Ras Al Khaimah. Wow. Yeah, so this is before even the gaming industry starts taking place. So manufacturing, trade, real estate, logistics, health and pharmaceuticals, and also there are more than 138,000 companies operating in Ras Al Khaimah. Why do you think that is? Because of the ease of company establishment. Okay, it has its own free zone as well, basically. And it's more cost effective. Exactly. It offers many, many benefits like one hundred percent ownership of companies, tax benefits, and all this stuff. And not to forget, land is a lot more cheaper to acquire in Ras Al Khaimah versus Dubai. For example, if you want to set up a warehouse from scratch, buy land and build a warehouse, it is much more cost effective to do that in Ras Al Khaimah. Exactly. That's why we saw sixty-six percent increase in company registration year on year. Sixty-six percent, that's a big number. That is a huge number. Exactly. So you're basically saying that Ras Al Khaimah is no longer just a tourist destination. It's not just somewhere people go for stations and vacations. It's also a business hub. I remember when we used to go there as local people like OGs of the area. What would you go for? Is it because it was a resort and you would go? Yes, we like I remember like we used to go with friends, like book a nice villa, enjoy the beach. The mountain, don't forget, has the highest mountain in the UAE, Jebel Jais. Wow, yes. This is the highest mountain all over the UAE. Enjoy. You know the weather? Ras Al Khaimah has better weather compared to Dubai. It does, yes. Like if you want to enjoy nature and all this, you go to Ras Al Khaimah side. Even the water is beautiful. The beach, the beaches are gorgeous there. So I believe from my understanding, coming into this just three years ago, that Ras Al Khaimah was sort of your weekend getaway for people in Dubai, right? Exactly, right. And so there are a lot of water sports activities, mountain biking, mountains, hiking. The longest zip line is in Ras Al Khaimah as well. Now they have more activities. This is part of the government plan to attract more tourists basically. And for more tourists, you need more activities. And not to mention, Abdul Latif, it was also much more affordable back in that time compared to today. You mean to just go visit? To stay, yeah. Today, Ras Al Khaimah rates are even higher than Dubai in certain resorts. I will say that the water in Ras Al Khaimah is probably some of the most beautiful waters and beaches I've ever seen anywhere. That the color and the turquoise and the white sand, it's gorgeous. So we know that Ras Al Khaimah has been a tourist destination. Again, we mentioned that it hit tourist record numbers. We know what the goal is. We know that whenever the government gets behind an area, places the money in the infrastructure, that's going to bring more opportunity for investors. And in fact, we already touched about the airport and the taxis. What about Etihad Rail? What about their announcement, right, of connecting? What do you know about that? Rail is like it's a whole UAE government plan basically that connects from all the way Abu Dhabi, connects to all the emirates in Dubai. And in fact, it's also going to connect Oman as well for the first time. The first project that connects GCC countries. I still haven't been there by the way, but you've been there and you've been there. Yeah, I've been there. Is gorgeous. Gorgeous. The nature as well. Exactly. So we know if we study real estate, we know when there's connectivity, that adds to the value. Just like we say, okay, waterfront adds to the value, connectivity adds to the value. Of course, the casino, the first and only gaming casino, adds to the value. And so we know also population. You know, I don't I couldn't find the most recent number of population. I had seen 400,000. Is that what it is? 400,000 exactly. This is the population in Ras Al Khaimah. It's going to hit 600 to 650 by 2030 in terms of population. But in terms of visitors, tourists, it was 1.5 and it's going to hit 5.6 million in 2030. That's huge, this is fact. Like one of the effects of the gaming in Ras Al Khaimah is the increase of international visitor was around 123 percent after the opening of the casino over there. Expected in Ras Al Khaimah, 264 percent. Can you believe that? Wow, and it's already broken ground. The Wynn Casino, we've seen it, and then they just announced the second property. Second property, right? Yes. The construction is going 24/7. By the way, I passed the other day. I went to one of my clients, you know, he submitted an EUI and he said, "Come to my place, collect the check from there." It was in Al Marjan. So I remember it was like 12:30 or 1:00 in the morning and I saw the construction is still going on. And that's why if you notice, the construction is very, very rapid. Yes, it's coming up in perfect timing. I don't think there will be any delays with handing over the Wynn casino. And we living in the United States, I don't know if you've ever been to Vegas. Have you ever been to Vegas? Not yet. Maybe you can invite me. I heard that this is going to be much larger than Vegas, right? They haven't actually announced the gaming license yet. Everything's proceeding as if it's existing. Do you have any insight into that? Very tricky question. Okay, uh let me tell you one thing. I remember like a client came to me right, and I offered him Ras Al Khaimah as a second investment, you know, to diversify, because he had already some properties in Dubai. And I told him, come buy in Ras Al Khaimah, because the casino is coming over there. The gaming is already being announced, but you know, it's not on the news yet. Hmm. I said no, but I'm not sure, you know, I have some doubt, blah blah. And then if you remember, one year ago it was already out in the newspaper, right? The gaming has been already announced. To listen as I told you, if we go back all right, first point, it's one factor that makes it very valuable. Exactly. I'll give you another example. If we go back in time again, in Dubai, Ahmed, you remember? Yeah, before Expo, people used to like buy in Expo Dubai, probably is going to boom, blah blah. And some people, people were divided. I will wait after the Expo. And some no, I will buy before the Expo. So you know, there were two types of people, either after or before. Yeah. It's the same thing we're talking about here. Expo finish already more than three years, right? Exactly. I mean, the fact that Wynn bought a second property and has already broken ground on the first one, they're clearly betting that everything's proceeding. Exactly, that everything's proceeding. You are already from United States. Yeah. You know what Wynn means for you, right? So I think actually, um, it was it was just recently I read somewhere where they did clearly mention, well, Wynn Casino mentioned in the US that the Wynn casino in Ras Al Khaimah, the gaming area, the casino area will be five times larger than the one in the US. So if they were not carrying or holding the gaming license, why would they make such a large gaming area, a casino? Logically, everything, obviously, it's just that final official stamp is what I'm also asking. Has that like, I want to ask you something. Yes, ask me. If you're going to wait till something like official, official, do you think that you will get the same price? Absolutely not. And then you have to also look at the names of the developers that have purchased plots and started launching and selling. We're not talking about Mickey Mouse cowboy developers. We are really talking about the largest, biggest names, such as Ellington. And because Ellington is on here, I won't mention all the other names, but all the largest names of developers have bets. Especially the hospitality brands. The hospitality brands, yes. So Ellington has already launched on Al Marjan Island in the second segment. We'll talk about what you have coming up as well in Ras Al Khaimah. So to your point, Abdul Latif, I think it's really important because my investors do ask me this. Look, we don't see the official, official, but yet everything is proceeding as if it's happening. So if Wynn has purchased two properties, they've already broken ground. All the largest names of developers have already launched and sold out, right? Including Ellington, of course, but all the largest names. But I think what's really, really, really important, we mentioned it, I want to hone in on it, that Ras Al Khaimah is already growing and is already seeing the numbers and the price per square foot increase due to multiple industries such as we mentioned: manufacturing, trade, health, pharmaceuticals and tourism, already, right? So it is a strong, solid buy. And I would ask you this question: how would you compare it to Dubai? If someone has money to invest and it's Dubai or Ras Al Khaimah, what would you tell them? I'm sure you're asked this all the time. Of course. First of all, see, you mentioned something very nice about Ras Al Khaimah, right? Like all the developers, now, can you name a place in Dubai that you will see all the top developers in one place? No. No, you're that's a you know what, Abdul Latif, that is a very good point. They're all segregated in their own areas, not all in one. Wow. And not only any developer, the top, the biggest in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, you know, all of them are in one place. One place, I mean, I'm just going to say we're talking about Aldar. We're talking about Damac. We're talking about Ellington. We're talking about Nakheel. And I know some others that are launching soon. And also, not only this. Also, brands like we see Marriott. You have the Fairmont. You have big, big hospitality brands. You're right, right next to each other. Exactly. And it's so beautiful the way they can actually. Can you talk a little bit about how the Ras Al Khaimah, how the name of all the little islands? Okay, so mainly there are three main islands basically that we see a lot of projects are launching over there. We started with Mina Arab. This is where we did our first project in collaboration with RAK Properties themselves. And guess what? We were sold out in the same day. Like you know, for me, you know, I've been with Ellington for more than five years, all right? So for me, it was really a new experience to sell something outside Dubai, okay? So I was not expecting that much demand in Ras Al Khaimah. I thought, okay, you know, it's going to be normal. Maybe not sold out in the same day. Maybe it will take two to three months. Shockingly, it was sold out the same day in a matter of two hours, okay. And this is not even, this is Mina Arab, and Mina Arab is really beautiful and it's a mix of apartments and villas. We see branded villas over there, beautiful beach access, and all this. So it was very successful project for us, all right? We were one of the reasons actually that we increased the prices in Mina Arab, okay? Because of the Ellington effect. Ellington effect, exactly. You still remember that? I'll never forget it. Actually, if anybody wants to know more about the Ellington effect, I have an entire podcast where we just talked about Ellington. So I will link to that. Exactly. So then we went like there's another island called Al Hamra Island. Al Hamra. It's a vibrant mix between golf course, water views, you know, you have the lake. It's an international golf course, eighteen-hole international golf course. It has eight entry and exit for example for itself. And there are people already living over there, has schools, again, hotels, branded apartments, everything, all right? And then the Marjan Island, which consists, you know, the biggest one compared to all other islands. And it is a home for the main other developers and is a home for the Wynn Resort, basically, as well. So like, uh, I have so many clients for Ras Al Khaimah. So some of them like they love the area. They don't want to be inside. They love Al Hamra because you know they want to play golf. They want to be in the middle, not inside, you know, because Marjan might be a busy area, you know? You see a lot of tourists. So they want to be okay, nearby but not inside. Like downtown, business area. They don't want to be part of the hustle and bustle, pretty much. So it's mixed thought basically. But what attracts Ras Al Khaimah today? Ras Al Khaimah, all these three islands are directly on the sea with beach access, right? The entry price of Ras Al Khaimah today is very, very affordable. What is it? See, okay, when we started, now just to see how the price increased. When we start in Ras Al Khaimah, we were at 1,500 per square foot. Okay, and when was that year? Uh, two and a half years ago, okay? Today the last project that we announced and we are selling is 3,000 dirhams per square foot. Nothing below 3,000 dirhams per square foot. Okay, this is one hundred percent increase in two and a half to three years. Exactly. And that's without the casino there. Yeah, exactly. So this shows the demand is increasing higher and higher. Like I've seen different nationalities, especially locally, local clients that they want to diversify. They want to have their second investment in Ras Al Khaimah, okay? They try Dubai. Dubai is beautiful, all right? We already see the price increase in Dubai. So now let's acquire new opportunity where we can double our money as well in that. And where is that? Have you come to that? I love that. I want to trademark it. So actually, Knight Frank did a report that I talk about quite often, where they studied waterfront properties globally, and what we find is that waterfront commands higher capital appreciation and higher rental returns. And so we know that it's proven. The numbers are proven. And then the opportunity, and like, if you're speaking right now, 3,000 dirhams per square foot right now, but we look at waterfront properties in Dubai, what are waterfront properties in Dubai right now? Well, actually, we're going pretty much head-to-head with Ras Al Khaimah right now. I mean, I just recently saw a project, a hospitality brand being launched in Ras Al Khaimah, where the price is somewhere around 4,000 dirhams per square foot. So you're looking at Ras Al Khaimah going head-to-head with Dubai prices. And that's the question I usually have with my investors. At the end of the day, with all due respect, we know what's happening in Ras Al Khaimah, but we also need to bear in mind that the majority of the buyers and investors are basically assuming, we're still assuming that this could happen, that could happen, price-wise, valuation-wise. Dubai is already, has proven track. Ras Al Khaimah does not have a proven track. So this is something new for us. Um, there's a rumor in the market. Of course, I'm sure you work with a lot of brokers who are going out and saying buy right now. I would not be surprised if the prices touch up to 10,000 dirhams per square foot once the casino is up and running and operational. I find that to be quite difficult to believe. I mean, look at Palm. Palm Jumeirah today, highest price you're looking at is roughly around 7,000 dirhams. Palm has been there for over two decades to build that kind of credibility. And it's one of a kind. It's one of the eight wonders of the world. True. Al Marjan Island will also be one of the first and only islands in the GCC country that will have a casino. No doubt it has its uniqueness. But then you just mentioned as well, they've already announced another plot coming, which will also have a casino. And then of course we've been hearing rumors that Abu Dhabi is planning to announce something very similar. We have rumors that Dubai will announce its own casino. But at the same time, it's been clear and announced by Wynn Casino and Al Marjan Island that for the first three years after Wynn Casino is opened up, no other emirate will be allowed to announce or even launch a casino. So it's a matter of three years, Abdul Latif. So that makes it very difficult for, especially for Gigi and I. For the last three years, we've had investors ask us, what do you guys think if we get in Ras Al Khaimah as a first-time investor, especially being an American? We personally did not find it safe for them to enter a market that is speculative. That's the word I was looking for. I believe Ras Al Khaimah is still on a speculative price range. Why? Because a lot of newcomers who have no experience in real estate jumped in the opportunity, assuming we buy something right now, before the casino opens up, we will walk away with 25 to 30 percent capital appreciation, and we will move out. And to be fair, we are seeing that in a resale market. We are 25 to 30 percent? Yes, we are seeing people actually walking out, trying to cash out, even at off-plan price, because they were assuming they could buy and sell within the next six months. So yes, there is that question that will always be there. But then Abdul Latif made a very valid point. Do you want to wait and find out whether if you're going to enter at these prices, or are you going to end up paying more because you missed the boat. So it's a risk that everyone should have the appetite for in order to take the chance. I like what you said, Abdul, and I agree with you when you said that the local investors that are looking to diversify their investment. This is the conversation I've been having since the beginning, since I started doing this three years ago. When they come to me, the first question I ask is, well, what are you looking for? What are your goals? If you're looking for the maximum upside, but there's going to be a little bit of a risk involved, that would be Ras Al Khaimah. If you're looking to diversify, we've already placed you in Dubai, which is proven, like you said. Proven track record. There's little to no risk, especially if it's with the right developer. Which as you can see by The Dubai Connect podcast, we only talk about the top tier, proven developers such as Ellington. Thank you. You know, you're always getting awards for your craftsmanship and your design and your timely delivery, and it's proven, you know? It's not a risk. You can ask ChatGPT. Yeah, very easy. Good point. So but ChatGPT isn't always right, by the way. Be careful. Yeah, I had a certain client. I usually ask, "How do you know us?" You know, some of them from social media, references, or from our podcast interview. Exactly. Thank you. You made me famous, all right. Did I find you a wife? That's what I wanted because I won't put some of that money in those envelopes at the wedding if I did. She just started to sell wife. So I asked him, "How do you know?" Surprisingly, like, he told me I asked ChatGPT and he advised me to go visit you. I swear, you know, and we're going to get this into part two where we go into Ellington. You have secured so I own a PR firm. I don't know if you know that I've done PR for twenty years representing global brands. Ellington is killing it in the brand game. Thank you. Killing it. So Muck. And that is why we confidently bring you on to share information about Ras Al Khaimah. We didn't bring on a Mickey Mouse developer. And as an ex-Ellington employee, I could vouch for that. I couldn't vouch for that. How funny is that? You know, Ahmed and I were saying something so interesting before. We don't even know if the brokers here really realize how big of a deal it is to have a casino in an area and what that really, really does, because we've been to Vegas. We know, we know that everyone gets on a plane on the weekend and goes to Vegas. I mean, we, I've done it so many times. Oh my gosh, for the dinners, for the shows, to just to get away. At least once a month, I would say, on a weekend. At least once. That's what everyone does, okay? It's just what you do. You go to Vegas for the weekend, okay? So we know that Vegas has drawn, let's say, from China, for example, you know, significant numbers. But now what's going to happen, Abdul Latif, with it being here? You're drawing a whole another segment of nationality of investors. And now the Americans are even going to be more inclined. Already Dubai has hit top tourist destination multiple years in a row according to TripAdvisor and multiple parameters that monitor tourism. But now Ras Al Khaimah is buzzing. I have especially Arab Americans, but a lot of Americans that know about Ras Al Khaimah. They're going to want to come out. So you have the Asians. You have, of course, the Middle Eastern people that now don't need to go to Vegas to go to a casino and enjoy the casino. And then now you have the North Americans. And I know you already have South Americans that are going to be coming here. I don't even know if people here really understand what is going to happen, because I believe majority of the brokers and I think it's safe to say, I would say ninety percent of the brokers that I see in the market, I don't think they've ever been to a casino. Have you been to a casino? Are you allowed to say, or are you going to get mad at that question? I tell you. So, uh, as a Muslim, you know, we're not allowed to gamble, all right. But, uh, I visited Monte Carlo, all right, to have the experience, not just to gamble. Not to gamble, exactly. That's the other thing we were discussing. Not gamblers either. But you don't go to Vegas just to gamble. Yeah, but that, see, this is what we want to clarify on this podcast, which is very important. There's a misconception when people use the word casino. They assume that whoever walks through that door is strictly there for casinos. But that's why Gigi is saying, if you come to Vegas, you will realize people are coming there with their families because Vegas is not just about entering a casino and sitting on a gambling table. You have every kind of entertainment you could imagine that is available there to accommodate families. So when we go to Vegas, we used to go to the best shows that the entire US could offer. They are being performed in Vegas. The best eating and entertainment outlets, the prime restaurants, international Michelin star restaurants. From a cheap buffet to a high-maintenance Michelin star restaurant, you will find it in Vegas. The best resort style amenities such as your swimming pools, your spas, your branded outlets, retail outlets. It's there. And this is what we want to see, which we are actually looking forward to see. Is Ras Al Khaimah going to offer that to everyone? Or are they going to try to keep it for a certain segment of type of class of people where they only want the rich to come over there? Good question. It is. Because with all due respect, what we see in Dubai, it's always about the glitter and the glamour. You have to be rich. You have to be at a certain level of class. There you go. To enjoy certain locations. And I will give you guys a good example. Let's take Atlantis Royale for example. There are restrictions as far as who could go in and visit the hotel and who cannot. And we've dined a lot of times over there. It is not cheap to dine in those restaurants. Not even to say the coffee shop. It's not cheap. But can you say the same thing for Vegas? No. Because in Vegas, you could sit in one of the best buffet restaurants for ten dollars. Famous for their buffets. Exactly. They're famous for their buffets all the way up to one hundred fifty dollars for a buffet restaurant. So that would be my question to see. Is Ras Al Khaimah Wynn Casino going to focus and cater only to the rich and famous, or do you know the answer or not? See, uh, when I visited personally in Monaco, wow, what a beautiful design. The entrance, you know, exactly the people, the cars that you see, you know, top, best, you know, rich, everything you can find there. And then, you know, of course, I'm hungry. I'm always hungry, okay? That sounds like. I didn't have a reservation that day, okay? I had to wait for two hours to get to that restaurant. The best like the restaurant there, the best ones, top, top rating. So you're talking about fine dining, fine dining. And then you have the brand. So then I assume if they have there in Europe, okay, and you know, UAE is way better, with all due respect. UAE, the country, always has the best of the best of the best. Like the quality of food, the quality of service, you cannot find anywhere. You've been visiting so many countries. I visited also so many countries. You cannot have Dubai and you experience anywhere else. So if they have all this, imagine what we will have then. It just a matter of two or three years, and then everyone will be shocked. How exciting. And the other thing that we're missing, and the topic we're missing, is the need for real estate to house all the employees that are going to be coming and moving here once that casino takes place. So yes, there are already investors that are, as you said, speculating that everything's moving forward, which logically it seems that it is. But then also, once that's there and all the industry is there, we know from what happened in Vegas, the amount of housing that is also needed to house them as well. We already know Ras Al Khaimah already has a growing GDP and is already doing very well economically, and that's proven, right? We can go and do the numbers. What's going to happen once the gaming industry is there? Okay, so I read some reports as well. Okay, a report from Bloomberg basically: Singapore has 1.6 percent GDP from the gaming. If we're going to implement the same number, just the same number that Singapore has, I, Ras Al Khaimah, will have 600 billion dollars in terms of revenue, just for 1.6 percent GDP as well. Wow, so these are huge numbers, guys. This is not a joke. Like as I told the Ras Al Khaimah government themselves, they are spending around 500 billion dirham to enhance the whole Ras Al Khaimah emirate basically, all right. You're making me want to buy there. You should, okay. You really should. Same as like I told one of my clients as well. Let's assume worst case scenario, okay? Let's say okay, the expectation it was not that high. Like as we spoke before, you're gonna have a beautiful house next to the beach, sea view, for less than Dubai pricing. Like half, like less than half of Dubai pricing. In a fifteen-minute taxi ride, um, exactly, fifteen minute, you can use it, you know, for your friends, for your family, for me, okay? Give it as a gift. Airbnb, I, you know, I have a rule. Every deal I give to my clients, they have to give me one week, short-term rent for free. Are you kidding me? Yeah. I have now around six months free vacation starting today that is going to be a new rule I'm implementing instead of me having to pay for Airbnb every time I come here and stay here for two months. Thank you for that idea. Ding ding ding. Between that and trademarking welcome, come to Ras Al Khaimah, habibi. Exactly, you want to hear some crazy numbers? About let's take five years, okay? Time frame, the difference in prices between different emirates. Okay, Dubai was around 74 percent increase. Okay, last five years, sharjah, 64 to 63 percent. Abu Dhabi, 40 something. Ras Al Khaimah, more than 320 percent in the past five years. Yes, they were extremely cheap before even all this announcement. Our clients are going to be very happy that they did invest in Ras Al Khaimah. 100 percent. And you know my grandfather used to say, oh, this house was cheap that much. You know my father? Then you, you see this house ten years ago it was that much. Today is this much. Correct. I don't want to say the same to my children in the future. Ah, you see this house and it used to be this much? Today is this much. But Abdul Latif, I have a question. Um, this same question implies towards Dubai Islands. Today for example, Dubai Islands will have a total of 87 hotels and resorts, okay? Do you not feel that 87 hotels and resorts will basically interfere and compete if a lot of investors are planning to have Airbnb over there? That's a lot of keys, you know, to have in one location. So my question would be, would that be an issue with Ras Al Khaimah as well? Because everyone who's purchasing over there has one thought, that we will use it as an Airbnb because you don't have people moving to Ras Al Khaimah with families because of a job situation because they're trying to live and move to Ras Al Khaimah. So everyone's looking into Airbnb. And we don't know the exact number so far. The official numbers given is 15,000 hotel keys. 3,500 have already been delivered. You have 12,000 residential keys so far that have been officially announced with the launch. We don't know yet how many more hotels and resorts will come there. Do you think that's going to affect the investors? I mean, that is a question that we have as well. Very good question, all right? uh, for this, we need to see the population growth in UAE and then specifically in Ras Al Khaimah. We did also in a study, we did a forecast as well from 2023 till 2030, all right? Yes, number of projects are increasing, but at the same time, the demand also is increasing, all right? I told you, we're going to hit 264 percent international visitors. Like now, okay? Take this example. Are you coming alone to Wynn? No, right? You're going to come with your friends or family. Just like Vegas, five to six people, right? And now if you go to a hotel, five to six people, you will never get one room. Correct. You have to take more rooms, all right? So in these cases, in a lot of cases, taking short term Airbnb is more affordable for a big group. That's why I always tell my clients, assume, like, consider two bed, two plus den, three bed, four bedroom, bedroom villas, this type of investment, because usually, if you go like with a studio and one bed, then you are going to compete with hotels, all right? Very good advice. Very strategic advice. I like what your viewpoint is on that. It's also dependent on the government vision in terms of, you know, the tourism and all that. If that strategy really works, which I'm sure it will work, inshallah, all right? Then you will see whatever we are saying now, it's going to be true in the future, all right? Again, today, the affordability of price in Ras Al Khaimah compared to Dubai is, you know, it's very advantageous point now. You asked me earlier about the advantage and disadvantage of Ras Al Khaimah, right? The advantage is, you know, very low entry ticket in Ras Al Khaimah, right? Fast growing emirate compared to other emirates as well. A hub for a lot of businesses, as we mentioned earlier, like logistics, you know, pharmacies, construction, and all this. Now that's the disadvantage, let's say the risk. I won't say disadvantage. I will say the risk is, still Ras Al Khaimah is maturing. It's like it's developing right now. It needs some time, right? It has less liquidity compared to Dubai because there is not much secondary market happening in Ras Al Khaimah right now. Good point. Because the way that I see it, if we look who's driving real estate markets? Agents, right? So the number of agents in Dubai, like active agents, is around 60,000 agents in Dubai real estate markets. I saw a report recently that registered real estate companies, 7,000. Imagine those 7,000 companies. They have so many agents. What you know? They have so many offers. Secondary market, you know, off-plan, all this. In Ras Al Khaimah, I visited Ras Al Khaimah real estate companies. They are less than 100 companies. Really? Exactly. So I do believe that brokers are a key factor of moving the whole real estate market as well. So the more, you know, the more we wait, of course, more companies will come, especially brokers. And then you will see compared to Dubai, Ras Al Khaimah will grow. That's why I'm telling people, as you said, it's not one year and two years. It's not short term. It's not short. You need to wait. Yeah. Real estate is a long-term investment vision. And on that note, thank you. We're going to come back to part two to talk more about Ellington. Let's go. So if you want to win in Ras Al Khaimah, you have to not only make sure that you invest in the right location on the islands, but also with the right developer. So we're going to come back in part two here on The Dubai Connect podcast with Abdul Latif from Ellington, go deeper into what it means to have the Ellington effect and talk more about what their projects have been, what they have delivered, and what is upcoming on Ras Al Khaimah. So please make sure to turn on your notifications, check out part two. If you are ready to invest in Ras Al Khaimah or have more specific questions, reach out to me now. Like, subscribe and follow The Dubai Connect.