Salalah, Oct 7 - Charter flights from Russia will begin operations on the Salalah sector in the 2018-19 season. The Russian charters will start their Salalah operations from October 15 with 189 tourists every week, said Hossam Eidin Mahmoud, Operations Supervisor, Meeting Point, an international tour operator. Unlike the other charters that ply on a weekly basis, the Russian charters — latest entrants — will operate once in 10 days, starting from October 15 to May 5, 2019. Hossam Mahmoud hoped the new addition will boost tourism in Salalah. With the destination gaining popularity among the European tourists, more charters will be added in the coming seasons, he said.
Among other charters operating this season are Czech (189 passengers), Italians (329) and Slovak (189). All these are weekly charters from these countries. “The operation of Slovak, Czech and Italian charters will begin from October 14, 15 and 26 respectively, and go up to May 2019. Russian charter will start from October 15 and go up to May 5, 2019,” said Hossam Mahmoud. The Polish charter has two weekly frequencies on Wednesday and Saturday. The Polish charter is being handled by Desert Gate Tourism. Its Managing Director Jamal Refaat said, “The charters will have a capacity of 189 passengers each. Starting from October 10, the Polish operation will conclude on May 4.”
Charters from Germany have discontinued this season, but the number of German tourists is likely to remain the same as that of previous years because they are likely to take Oman Air, Fly Dubai and Emirates to visit Salalah. Unlike the weekly arrivals in the past, Germans are likely to arrive daily by Oman Air, Fly Dubai and Emirates. Salalah attracts visitors from many other places. There are individual tourists who love to explore Oman by making Salalah as their hub. As per estimates, there are not less than 400 such passengers who come to Salalah on a weekly basis.
Officials in the Ministry of Tourism described these developments as a “good sign” of Salalah emerging as a favourite destination for tourists”. Said Ahmed al Fareh, Managing Director of Al Fawaz Tours, is happy about the tourism growth in Salalah. “Earlier, Salalah was known only for its Khareef season. But the charter movement, which started some 12 years ago, has opened up the destination.”
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