Oman faces heavy rush of UAE visitors during Eid
Oman faces heavy rush of UAE visitors during Eid
Muscat: Oman's pristine beaches, wadis and other natural attractions beckon residents of UAE during festival holidays.
This time round too, hotels have already been booked for the Eid Al Adha holidays.
Oman's oldest four-star hotel, Al Falaj, has regular clients from Dubai and this time also the hotel has experienced a rush of visitors from the UAE.
"We already have 90 per cent pre-booking for the Eid holidays and that includes a large number of residents from Dubai," K. V. Raj, Group Manager of Oman Hotels and Tours Company, told Gulf News yesterday. Besides Al Falaj, the group runs hotels in Sur, Sohar and the Ruwi Hotel in Muscat.
"Our main market is the UAE, especially during holiday season," said the top executive of the 35-year-old hotel.
Raj said that even when visitors from the UAE plan turtle-watching or wadi bashing expeditions they first come to hotels in Muscat and then take off for the respective trips.
According to an official of the Tourism Ministry, Al Hoota Cave in the Dhakhiliya region in the south-east of Muscat, which was opened earlier this month, is a big attraction for visitors from the UAE. It is a 5-km-long tunnel running through the Al Hajar Mountains. The cave has an underground cavern and a subterranean lake.
The tourist traffic to Oman from GCC countries is dominated by visitors from the UAE and in particular from Dubai, reckons D. Shekhar, General Manager of Safeer Hotels' Operations and Projects. "Over 50 per cent visitors during the Eid holidays come from UAE and that is the reason why we advertise our properties in Oman in the UAE media," reasons Shekhar, whose group has five properties with one more on the way.
Navid Abdul Gani, who manages Manam Apartments also said that nearly 75 per cent of the visitors to Oman during the Eid holidays come from the UAE.
"We expect to turn back some last minute customers as rush is heavy for our 40 apartments," he said, adding that most of the visitors from the UAE seeking apartments are Indian expatriates.
