RAK has great tourism potential

A reader expresses confidence over Ras Al Khaimah's tourism potential. Other topics: business, ambulance, Robin Williams, supercars

A reader says Ras Al Khaimah has huge potential to grow into a tourism hotspot. Sarah Dea / The National

Ras Al Khaimah, which is not very far from Dubai, is a great place to be away from the hustle and bustle of the city (RAK tourism boss unveils plan to lure visitors, August 11). There are great hotels such as the Waldorf Astoria, Banyan Tree and Hilton with access to beaches and restaurants and golf courses. Why not visit the place often?

Randall Mohammed, Dubai

Colour coding ambulances is not a solution

I refer to the news item New red ambulances in Dubai for critical patients (August 11). Let's hope that they dispatch the correct vehicle. Drivers should give way to any emergency vehicle that has a siren and a flashing light.

Anyone in the medical field can tell you how an apparent non-emergency can change to life threatening in minutes.

Lisa Justice, Dubai

I don’t think one ambulance should get precedence over another ambulance. An expectant mother could be in a more emergency situation than a trauma case, since two lives are at stake. Motorists won’t remember colour coding. This is a bad idea.

Ambulances should always be given way, no matter the emergency.

Make the ambulances all red and white. If the blue light is flashing and the siren is used, then motorists must give way, or they break the law. It’s that simple.

Imane Farhat, Canada

Many people’s conditions might deteriorate while waiting for the right ambulance to arrive. What do they do then? Also, what about putting cameras in ambulances that will record all those who don’t give way to them, so the police can send them fines and award them black points for their ignorance?

Jacqueline Curran, Dubai

Companies can’t guarantee profits

Listening to the local business news the other morning, I was saddened to hear the chief executive of a well-known organisation say: “The company would from now on be making sustainable profits.”

Now you may ask what is wrong with that statement given that what companies try to do all the time is make profits. The issue is the use of the word “sustainable” in connection with company profitability, because I believe the two are largely incompatible. Profits tend to be volatile and hard to predict; in fact the company in question has just come off the back of a prolonged period of restructuring after several periods of losses, none of which I suspect it had promised its shareholders in advance.

Sustainability is all about maintaining control and achieving positive outcomes for a wide group of stakeholders, not just shareholders, over long time periods in excess of 30 years. Any chief executive who feels he can promise that for company profits in this increasingly volatile world would be well advised to reflect on his judgment. It might be better to talk about integrating sustainability principles into the organisational strategy to better support the generation of future profits. Increasingly evidence seems to be suggesting that this is the way forward for long term corporate success.

Volker Soppelsa, Dubai

Robin Williams’s death a great loss

The death of the actor Robin Williams was shocking. He created a big impact through the films such as Mrs Doubtfire and Aladdin. The characters he portrayed in these films are unforgettable. His death is a great loss to the film industry. I pray that his soul rests in peace.

K Ragavan, US

Leave the car and ride the bicycle

The only question I want to ask, in reference to the picture gallery of supercars owned by Gulf Arabs in Britain (In pictures: Wealthy Arab tourists show off supercars on the streets of London, August 10), is this: anyone for a bicycle?

Get the world out of cars, which pollute, occupy space and cause so many deaths (not only from accidents, but many people do not get enough exercise, as a result of which obesity, heart problems and diabetes are rising). So promoting bicycles is worth the effort.

Do you know that many rich people in various countries prefer to ride bicycles even while going to work?

Brigitte von Bulow, Abu Dhabi