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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Georgia is safe destination for tourists, says envoy

Georgia
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MAY 14 - Georgia’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Giorgi Jangava, has clarified on an incident related to Omani citizens travelling to his country. He was in Oman recently as part of the Georgian National Tourism Administration to promote his country as a destination to the Oman market. Speaking to the media, Jangava, who is also his country’s representative for Oman, Bahrain and Yemen, said such cases are not any country specific and have been also reported by citizens of some other countries.


It may be noted that around six citizens were asked to hand over their passports and wait at the airport on arrival for over two hours.


“Though it is within the sovereign right of any state to whether to accept or not the inbound passengers, it is important to find out the real reasons to avoid such incidents in the future,” he said.


Jangava said that Georgia has emerged as an attractive destination for citizens and residents of the GCC, including Oman.


“It is evident from the encouraging number of visitors in 2017 that Georgia is a safe and popular destination for all tourists. The country has invested heavily in the security apparatus, including installation of surveillance cameras.”


He urged the tourists to avail the services of only recognised tourism companies in Georgia.


He confirmed that a recent case related to the death of an Omani couple was due to a gas leak from a heater, which has been one of the concerns in Georgia during summer.


Oman’s Embassy in Ankara had recently urged citizens travelling to Georgia to follow certain guidelines.


The embassy added that travellers must disclose the areas in Georgia they visit, have a valid passport, health insurance, an agreement with an accredited tourist company and the hotel reservation.


The embassy said that in many cases travellers did not follow normal procedures while booking the ticket, without coordination with tourism companies in Georgia.


Oman’s budget airline, SalamAir, has added Tbilisi to its network from June 14 with three weekly direct flights (Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday) with fares starting from RO 106.


Vinod Nair


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