MUSCAT: A number of tourism events and festivals are currently taking place in different governorates of the Sultanate of Oman in conjunction with the winter tourism season. These events are aimed at stirring tourist activities and highlighting the tourist potentials of Oman.
Haitham bin Mohammed al Ghassani, Director-General Tourism Promotion at the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism, said that in order to develop winter tourism season, which lasts from October to April, the ministry has announced a number of events and festivals which would take place during the first half of the year in different governorates some of which went under way at the outset of the year such as the Empty Quarter Festival, the Desert Adventure Festival and the Ironman World Championship.
In comments to ONA, Al Ghassani added that the upcoming period will see more events in the rest of the governorates including in the governorates of Musandam and Al Buraimi. He added that these activities are aimed at stimulating tourist activities in the governorates and boosting hotel occupancy rates.
He emphasised that the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism is striving to increase cruise ships calls at the country's ports as cruise ship tourism is one of the most important activities that contribute in attracting tourists from all countries, he added.
Khalid bin Mohammed al Azri, Director of the Department of Tourism Patterns at the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism, said that the Sultanate of Oman managed to attract many cruise ships to the Port of Salalah, Port Sultan Qaboos and Port of Khasab. He added that the cruise ship sector carries great significance in promoting the Sultanate of Oman as one of the key tourist destinations in the region and the whole world.
The number of tourist arrivals during one of the seasons prior to the economic recovery reached 280,000 visitors and now that the sector’s comeback and full recovery, the sector will restore pre-crisis numbers with 200 cruise ships expected to visit the Sultanate of Oman’s ports during the 2022/2023 season.
Nailesh Khimji, Director, Khimji Ramdas Group, said that the tourism sector is set to become the largest generator of job opportunities in the upcoming period at both the local and global levels, noting that the tourism sector witnessed a steady growth over the past few years.
He affirmed that Khimji’s House of Travel seeks to contribute to the growth of the tourism sector in the Sultanate of Oman by attracting tourists and offering various tourism packages especially for tourists coming via cruise ships that dock in the ports of the Sultanate of Oman, noting that Khimji's House of Travel handled more than 80 cruise ships last year. — ONA
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
