Muscat, Dec 30 - The Ministry of Tourism (MoT) has spared no effort in promoting the Sultanate as a major tourism destination around the world, including the use of social media in a big way to attract tourists.
The ministry, for instance, promotes Oman in six languages — Arabic, English, French, Italian, German and Dutch — through its social media account, ‘Experience Oman’.
These accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat etc share scenes and experiences of tourists in Oman along with information which is important for tourists.
‘Experience Oman’ is drawing attention in the virtual world because of its rich content on natural and cultural elements of the Sultanate and for increasing ratio of engagement by its followers from around the world.
These social media accounts won awards for the year 2017 for their exemplary use of social media in the Middle East and North Africa.
The ministry has urged the tourism sector and individuals to benefit from the promotional contents of the website www.experienceoman.om and increase engagement with the ‘Experience Oman’ accounts.
This is required as contribution to enrichment of the electronic content on tourism in Oman and promotion of its tourist sites. It also provides opportunities to the followers and social media influencers to share their experiences and their best time during their visit to these sites. They can share the activities in which took part under hashtag #ExperienceOman.
The ministry’s electronic accounts are aimed at providing information required by both local and foreign tourists. They also track various tourism activities organised in the country.
Areas covered by these accounts include natural tourism, heritage, cultural, sports, business and conferences.
Saleh bin Ali al Khaefi, Director of Promotions Department, Ministry of Tourism, said the attention to the social networking sites managed by the ministry is great because these accounts have rich promotional content on the natural characteristics of the Sultanate.
He said the Ministry of Tourism was working to benefit from modern technologies in the promotion of tourism and using social media to reach out to the world.
“It is trying to strengthen its presence in these networks with contents on tourism, coverage of events and activities, experiences of tourists, tourism seasons and reports of national events.”
Yousef al Majizi, head of the e-marketing department in the Ministry of Tourism, said the promotional content about the natural sites showcases the beauty of Oman.
Tourism seasons for camping in deserts, harvesting of pomegranates in Jabal Al Akhdhar, Khareef in Dhofar, mountain trekking, adventure tourism, dolphin watching and other such activities draw great response on social media. He said the Ministry of Tourism believes in using the social media celebrities by inviting them to visit Oman and spread among their followers what their cameras and minds have recorded.
Asilah bint Khalifa al Ghafriya, a market researcher in the Ministry of Tourism, said the ministry focuses on many aspects, most importantly experiences of tourists and their impressions.
She said the indicators of interaction would be measured through the number of likes, views, comments, impressions and access as well as number of followers.
Photos, videos and articles in international journals regarding Oman are some of the important means of promotion. She said the ministry was organising competitions to encourage Twitter users to compete in highlighting aesthetics of the Sultanate by taking “photographs which tell all”.
Asila al Ghafriya said the focus is on all aspects of tourism, whether to promote tourist sites, or cultural, historical or natural elements. All efforts have been made taking into account nature of the market.
There are some places in Muscat such as Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque and Muttrah Souq, which trend the highest on social media. If foreigners interact on social media, it is good for the country’s tourism sector.
On the ministry’s plans to expand the use of means of communication to promote tourism, she said the ministry was considering to intensify promotional campaigns, paid advertisements and hosting some of the influencers of social networking sites.
She said the ministry always encourages community initiatives to promote the Sultanate and it encourages them by providing appropriate support.
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