Muscat: Consultations on the unified visa between the Gulf countries are continuing and there has been the approval of some articles, apart from an agreement between Oman and Saudi Arabia to enhance joint tourism promotion, this was revealed by Salem bin Mohammed al Mahrouqi, the Minister of Heritage Tourism, on Wednesday.
He was speaking at the Oman and World Seminar organized by the Ministry of Information.
He added that the Sultanate of Oman offers citizens of 103 countries visa-free entry.
The minister said that the government has been working on policies to promote investment by providing facilities and encouraging strategic partnerships with the Omran Group, the investment arm of the ministry.
He also spoke about over 1,000 hotel facilities that offer distinctive tourism experiences.
He said the Maritime History Museum project will be completed in four years and will reflect the richness of Omani maritime heritage and its historical status.
The Sultante of Oman has five sites registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List and has the potential to be a destination for adventure tourism. The government has laid out safety guidelines for adventure tourists.
The Sultanate of Oman received 2.3 million visitors in the first seven months of 2024, an increase of 2.4 percent from 2.2 million people who visited the country during the same period in 2023.
The top five nationalities among visitors were Emiratis (714,636), Indians (367,166), Yemenis (139,354), and Germans (79,439).
Around 4.7 million visitors left the country during the same period, which included 3,353,777 Omanis, 506,121 Indians, 302,351 Pakistanis, 171,799 Bangladeshi, and 131,575 Yemenis.
There are 3,361 Omanis and 6,843 expatriates employed in three to five-star hotels in the Sultanate of Oman.
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