Al Marjan Island is a group of 4

coral Corals are colonial marine invertebrates within the subphylum Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact Colony (biology), colonies of many identical individual polyp (zoology), polyps. Coral species include the important Coral ...

-shaped islands in a man-made

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands. An archipelago may be in an ocean, a sea, or a smaller body of water. Example archipelagos include the Aegean Islands (the o ...

located in Al Jazirah Al Hamra, Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, in the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

. It is administered by the Al Marjan Island Company. Several

resort A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that aims to provide most of a vacationer's needs. This includes food, drink, swimming, accommodation, sports, entertainment and shopping, on the premises. A hotel ...

s, beaches, tourism destinations and residential projects are located in the four islands, being one of the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

's top tourism spots.

History

Started as a tourism enterprise, the five-year construction development started in 2013. Although still under development, at full operation, it is expected to host up to 20 thousand people in hotels and other facilities, with an estimated foreign investment starting at Dh19 billion. The Island now houses 45% of the total 5-star hotel rooms in the Emirate through its 3 resorts - the Rixos Bab Al Bahr, DoubleTree by Hilton Resort & Spa Marjan Island, and Al Marjan Island Hotel & Spa; capacity will exceed 10 thousand rooms by 2017 in the Emirate, half of it in the Island. The area received over 100 thousand visitors during 2013. While more than 100 thousand foreigners visited the Island during 2014, 23% of the total number of visitors during the first quarter of 2013 were UAE nationals. The tourism industry is diversifying due to the slump in Russian inward tourism; the Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority is now looking towards Eastern Europe and the UK to prop up its numbers, with tourism expected to generate approximately 20% of the Emirate's GDP. A project to build a soccer-themed resort sponsored by

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

in the Island was scrapped in late 2013 due to lack of funding. The RAK government, however, is in talks to reformulate that investment with the help of other investors. Wynn Al Marjan Island will be an

integrated resort A casino hotel is an establishment consisting of a casino with temporary lodging provided in an on-premises hotel. Customers receive the benefits of both gambling facilities and lodging. Since the casino and hotel are located on the same premis ...

developed by

Wynn Resorts Wynn Resorts, Limited is an American publicly traded corporation based in Paradise, Nevada, that is a developer and operator of high-end hotels and casinos. It was founded in 2002 by former Mirage Resorts Chairman and CEO Steve Wynn and is now r ...

which will open in 2027. It will feature the first

casino A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...

in the UAE. Wynn Resorts reveals renderings, name of UAE resort
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Geography

The island group consists of Breeze Island, Treasure Island, Dream Island and View Island. It extends into the sea and covers an area of *Breeze Island counts with several hotels and of waterfront with a

promenade An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortification, fortress or city walls ...

. *Treasure Island is a prominently residential area, built on . *Dream Island is an extensive beach area, with several hotels and clubs located on its shores. It possesses of waterfront area. *View Island is the central section of the island group, representing its residential and hospitality urban core.

Gallery

File:Breeze Island.jpg, Breeze island File:Treasure Island1.jpg, Treasure island File:View Island.jpg, View island File:Dream Island.jpg, Dream Island

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Al Marjan Island Geography of the United Arab Emirates