Oman's cruise season 2023-24 begins next week

Muscat: The cruise season 2023 in the Sultanate of Oman will begin next week with the Port of Salalah likely to receive the first cruise ship (Crystal Symphony) of the season on October 22 while the Port Sultan Qaboos (PSQ) will receive the same ship on October 24.

The other ships to arrive at PSQ in the subsequent days are Mein Schiff 2 (October 27), AIDAbella (October 28), and Azamara Journey (November 11).

The big ships that are expected to call at the Port Sultan Qaboos are AIDAcosma (over 6,000 passengers), MSC Virtuosa (over 5,700 passengers), and AIDAprima (over 3,000 passengers).

The Khasab Port will receive its first ship on November 1.

It may noted that after three years, TUI Airways will operate charter flights to Muscat during the winter tourism season in 2023.

TUI Airways is a British airline, offering flights from the United Kingdom and Ireland to destinations and is regarded as one of the largest world's largest charter airline

The first flight (TOM494) from Birmingham will arrive in Muscat at 12:30 am on December 1, while the flight (TOM572) from London Gatwick will arrive in Muscat on November 30 at 10.50 p.m. The flight from Manchester (TOM262) will arrive in Muscat on December 1 at 12.50 am.

It may be noted that TUI operated a turnaround operation in 2019 when 900 passengers from the above-mentioned countries arrived in Muscat to join the MV Marella Discovery cruise at Port Sultan Qaboos while the ship left for the UK by the charted flight.

The Port Sultan Qaboos attracted 74 cruise ships and 149,000 passengers in 2022, contributing around RO4 million. These ships also contributed to the recovery of the tourism sector in the various governorates of the Sultanate of Oman through various tour packages that were sold on ships.

The Ministry of Heritage and Tourism (MHT) has been conducting a study with an international company on the readiness of the ports of the Sultanate of Oman to receive more cruise ships and private yachts as cruise tourism has the potential to generate millions of riyals annually.

According to Haitham bin Mohammed al Ghassani, Director General of Tourism Promotion at MHT, the ministry is working to make the Sultanate of Oman one of the most important destinations in the world to attract cruise ships by investing in the coastal areas of the country, spread over 3,165 square kilometers.