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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Tourism sector stays affected due to Covid-19

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@vinot_nair


The number of visitors coming to the Sultanate during the past year reached 875,000, including 110,000 visitors via cruise ships, while the number of departures from the Sultanate reached 1.7 million, according to the monthly report on tourism indicators issued on Tuesday.


The number of visitors coming to the Sultanate during December declined 90.6 per cent to 37,392 in 2020 compared to the same month in 2019.


Omanis constituted 47 per cent of the total 91,000 departures in December 2020. There was a decrease of 82.5 per cent in outbound visitors during the same period.


There was a drop of 100 per cent in the number of cruise visitors in December 2020.


The total revenues of 3 to 5-star hotels amounted to RO 85 million from 842,000 guests in 2020.


The number of inbound visitors mostly from the Gulf (55.9 per cent), followed by travellers from India, Pakistan and China.


The tourism industry lost an estimated $1.3 trillion in export revenue in 2020 and the recovery will be slow as new Covid-19 variants are causing governments to continue using travel bans to stem the spread.


“While much has been made in making safe international travel a possibility, we are aware that the crisis is far from over,” UN’S WTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said. “The harmonisation, coordination and digitalisation of Covid-19 travel-related risk reduction measures, including testing, tracing and vaccination certificates, are essential foundations to promote safe travel and prepare for the recovery of tourism once conditions allow.”


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