Muscat, Sept 9 - The Omani tourism promotional workshops kicked off on Monday in Moscow. The two-day workshops planned to be held in Moscow and Saint Petersburg is part of the Ministry of Tourism (MoT) promotion of the breathtaking destinations and the world-class tourism and hospitality facilities, services and products in the Sultanate. Ahmed bin Nasser bin Hamad al Mehrzi, Minister of Tourism, was present at the launch of the promotional attended by representatives of more than 200 Russian travel companies and tour operators, local and national media, and more than 23 Omani hotels and tourism companies, tour operators and establishments.
The minister held a number of meetings with Russian tourism investors and entrepreneurs, in which the developments in tourism sector, facilitation and advantages of the Omani tourism were discussed. Furthermore, the meetings approached the capabilities and benefits the Sultanate has for Russian tourists, visitors and travel companies. Al Mehrzi highlighted the Sultanate’s efforts in developing tourism sector that resulted in a total number of international arrivals of 1,700,000 from January 1 to June 30, 2019, and 451 hotel facilities offering 24,355 hotel rooms in the same period.
The minister asserted on the importance of taking part in international events and functions related to tourism industry to know more about the needs and requirements of tourism markets abroad, and the new attitudes and directions regarding the tourists themselves and the markets.
Salim bin Adi al Mamari, Director-General of Tourism Promotion at MoT, in a speech said the launch of promotional workshops in Moscow and Saint Petersburg complements the opening of Omani tourism representative office in Russia to further deepen the relations in tourism sector.
“The Sultanate of Oman is a promising destination for the Russian tourism sector. According to data, the Russian arrivals amounted to 10,877 in 2018 which represent an increase of 162 per cent compared to 4,156 in 2017; while in the first six months in 2019, the arrivals amounted to 9,651.
Russia is one of the most important tourism markets that Oman targets. Accordingly, the
Sultanate initiated a number of steps for solidifying the bilateral tourism relations including inaugurating direct flights from and to Muscat and Moscow and opening a representative office”, said al Mamari.
lilia Nawmki, the representative of Oman’s tourism office in Russia pointed out that the promotional efforts are, currently, concentrated on advertising and publicity campaigns and providing all Russian tour operators, hotel facilities and travel companies with updated information on Oman’s tourism products and services through newsletters and e-media platforms.
“The Omani representative office in Russia supervises over holding and organising marketing workshops, direct promoting of Omani tourism products and services, providing tourism training for Russian tourism operators, having partnerships with tour operators, and organising networking events and media campaign.
The workshop featured a presentation on tourism in Oman that highlighted facilities, products and services in the Sultanate for the Russian tourists, and participants were briefed on the cultural and traditional values of the Omanis.
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