Salalah calling!

All roads will soon lead to Salalah, the southernmost city and suburbs that are all set to welcome the seasonal wonder, 'Khareef Salalah', after a long hiatus of two years plus due to the pandemic.

Happening for the first time in the post-pandemic era, an unprecedented number of people are expected to visit the region to refresh themselves in the cool, balmy climate of the region when most of the countries are reeling under extreme temperatures, news that gives hope to the people of Salalah and beyond.

Authorities in Dhofar Governorate have started preparations to welcome visitors for the khareef season. On Wednesday the office of the Minister of the State and Governor of Dhofar held a meeting to determine the readiness of the relevant departments.

Provision of adequate police presence to organize the traffic movement on all roads leading to the governorate, securing green spaces and beaches with rescue teams, and maintaining security and safety for visitors have been evaluated.

The main locations of khareef, for the first time after the pandemic, have been spread across a couple of areas since an parallelled crowd has been expected this time, according to the organizers of the three-month-long carnival.

"The name of the khareef celebrations, unlike in the past, has been changed from 'festival' to 'carnival' to give it a different appeal altogether.

This year around, an unusual crowd is expected, according to him, due to many reasons.

"The first reason is that this celebration of the season is happening after nearly two and half years as we had to cancel all the festivities of the past two editions owing to Covid-19 and we are expecting both domestic and international tourists to the various spots in Dhofar," said the representative.

Additionally, the opening of the Oman-Saudi Arabia road is expected to facilitate an unprecedented number of tourists from the Kingdom.

"Opening of the Oman-Saudi dual carriageway will act as a triggering factor to the tourism of Oman, especially that of the Dhofar Governorate," said Abdul Nasser, social activist and a businessman in Salalah.

The mountain area in Aiteen Road will no longer be the main attraction. Instead, all parks and other public places, Awkat Salalah, Tareef Beach and other important places will host a carnival in connection with the khareef.

"This is to scatter the volume of visitors across different areas rather than concentrating at one or two places so that managing the crowds, especially under the Covid precautions, will be easier," he added.

Most of the GCC countries are witnessing soaring temperatures with mercury touching as high as 45 degrees Celsius and above.

Saifudheen, another businessman said vendors have been invited to a number of areas to do business in the tents and both local vendors as well as from other Middle East countries are expected to arrive here.