A delegation led by Dr Carel Richter met tourism and hospitality leaders across four states, including Las Vegas, before Wynn Al Marjan Island's scheduled September 2027 launch. Follow-up talks aim to turn identified opportunities into potential projects.
In October 2026, a Ras Al Khaimah delegation traveled to Florida and Michigan. Nevada was another stop. Utah completed the four-state mission, which pursued tourism and destination-development opportunities with U.S. partners.
The program brought together government entities and companies. Investors took part alongside universities, with economic-development organizations also at the table. Discussions covered tourism and hospitality, as well as advanced manufacturing and technology. Education and agrifood were also on the agenda, along with real estate and infrastructure.
Dr Carel Richter, Advisor for International Relations in the Office of the Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, led the delegation. He described it as the emirate's first U.S. mission in which representatives from different organizations presented themselves as "one unified integrated ecosystem." The Ras Al Khaimah Chamber of Commerce and Industry and RAKEZ sent representatives. RAK Properties and Marjan were represented too. Innovation City and the Department of Knowledge took part, as did the Government Media Office.
Michigan accounted for at least 34 meetings. They took place in Lansing and Ann Arbor, as well as across the Detroit metropolitan area. Discussions covered advanced manufacturing and engineering. The delegation also met people working in robotics and agrotechnology. Medical technology, education and real estate were among the other subjects.
In Florida, the delegation held more than 20 meetings. Those included discussions with Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and former Miami Mayor Francis Suarez.
Three letters of intent came out of the mission. The Ras Al Khaimah Chamber of Commerce and Industry signed one with the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce. The other two were with Ann Arbor SPARK and World Trade Center Utah. The letters set a framework for further cooperation, but they do not establish completed projects. The next step is follow-up discussion to develop opportunities identified during the trip into projects and partnerships, with further agreements also possible.
In Nevada, the delegation met Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority CEO Steve Hill and Las Vegas Mayor Shelley Berkley. Business representatives also joined discussions about tourism and convention infrastructure. The possibility of a Sister City relationship between Las Vegas and Ras Al Khaimah remains under discussion. The meetings also gave the delegation a chance to study Las Vegas's experience in convention and resort tourism, as The Nevada Independent reported.
The Nevada meetings came ahead of the scheduled September 2027 opening of Wynn Al Marjan Island, Wynn's first integrated resort in the UAE. The planned complex is designed to include about 1,500 rooms. Suites and villas are also planned, alongside more than 20 restaurants and hospitality venues. Ras Al Khaimah welcomed more than 670,000 visitors in the first half of 2026, its strongest first-half result to date, according to tourism authorities quoted by Le360.
In Utah, the delegation visited Snowbird Resort and Olympic Park. It also went to Deer Valley to examine destination development, innovation ecosystems and public-private partnership models. The visits formed part of a broader program of relationship-building and knowledge-sharing. Utah did not produce an announced project or investment deal with those destinations.
The official mission account, reported by Zawya, said the emirate would continue discussions with prospective investors. Companies and institutional partners are also part of the follow-up talks.
