Muscat: The Muttrah Waterfront and Souq areas of the capital are brimming with visitors with the beginning of the cruise and the regular tourism season, which started last week.
Speaking to the Observer, businesses at the Souq said there is a high turnout of foreign tourists for this time of the year compared to the past few years." An owner of a shop selling collectibles said, "We had just one cruise ship last week, but overall the tourist footfall at the waterfront is picking up. Weather in the evenings is also getting pleasant, but the problem is business is not the same across the board. Some food joints are generally doing well because the number of quality food joints is limited. Regarding souvenir shops, visitors are spoilt for choices, and it has been tough the past few months." The extended summer and heatwaves also kept away local visitors from the Souq.
With the Sultanate of Oman hosting several conferences this year, the waterfront has also been receiving several foreign and VIP delegates.
The Port Sultan Qaboos (PSQ) received the Crystal Symphony ship on October 24, but the ships to arrive in the next few days are 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. 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 (MoHT) 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 MoHT, 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 kilometres.
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