Muscat: Oman has become the favourite destination for many tourists from the Gulf this summer due to a perceived increase in Islamaphobia in Europe as well as the recent terror strikes in some cities.
Tourist and travel experts see Oman as a very safe place and has huge tourism potential.
The Ministry of Tourism says Salalah in southern Oman is becoming the preferred destination for a growing number of tourists from Gulf states and Oman during summer. Often referred to as the “Switzerland of the Gulf”, it is known for its moderate temperatures during summer and the lush landscape.
Recent statistics released by the National Centre for Statistics & Information (NCSI), showed a whopping 39.9 per cent increase in the number of visitors to Salalah this year till July 25 than from last year.
The total visitors rose to 215,128 as of July 18, from 153,780 visitors during the same period last year.
Mohammad Al Beloushi, a tourism expert and owner of travel agency, told Gulf News that an increasing number of Gulf nationals are heading to Oman due to the country promoting itself as a place where ancient culture and heritage meets openness and simplicity of life.
“What makes Oman different from other neighbouring countries is that you can see breathtaking beaches and mesmerising mountains at the same time in the same tourist spots,” said Al Beloushi.
Many tourists from Gulf states told Gulf News over phone on Sunday that they prefer to spend the holiday in Dhofar governorate this summer as they fear and reluctant to go to Europe after the recent attacks.
Ahmad Al Nuaimi, UAE national, said that he had planned to go to France with his family but later changed it following the terror attack in Nice on July 14.
“We decided to spend the holiday in Salalah this year. It’s safe and has lots of tourist attractions. We are enjoying our time here,” said Al Nuaimi.
Eid Al Shammari, a Saudi national, said he was afraid of going to Europe this summer and wanted to avoid the risk.
Al Shammari said he and his friends were supposed to visit Belgium by mid July, but they changed their plans and booked tickets to Salalah, too.
Al Shammari said the cool temperatures, fascinating landscapes, fog and rain added more joy to his trip.
Furthermore, in response to the rising demand, Oman Air, Oman’s national carrier, has operated 11 daily flights during Khareef season between Salalah and the Omani capital Muscat, with a capacity increase of 15,000 seats compared to the previous year.
Jabal Al Akdhar, Jabal Shams, Al Ashkarah, Mahoot and Wadi Bai Khalid are the other top tourist destinations for Omani and Gulf nationals during summer months, an official at the Ministry of Tourism told Gulf News.
The official added that the ministry has its own tourist offices in Gulf states, which aim to promote tourism and attract more tourists.
“The number of Gulf tourist to Oman has significantly increased this year, due to the intensive tourist campaign “Visit Oman in Summer” and the low prices,” said the official. The official also agreed that recent attacks in Europe pushed many Gulf people to spend their holidays in Oman.
Some tourists and travel agencies in Gulf states also allocated special tourism programmes during summer to Omani cities.
Last year, Ahmad Al Mehrezi, Minister of Tourism, said that Oman’s tourism strategy aims to open doors to the foreign investment in the sector, promising to transform the country into “Norway of the Gulf”.
Oman tourism strategy 2040 is expected to provide more than 500,000 jobs by the end of 2040.
The tourism strategy will also increase the value of expected investments to about 19 billion rials of which only 12 per cent will be by the public sector.
The contribution of tourism sector to the country’s GDP will range between 6 per cent and 10 per cent and the number of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) would be 1,200 by 2040.
Of the 2.6 million visitors that arrived in Oman in 2015, GCC nationals topped the numbers at 1.06 million, while Indians came second at 299,661, followed by the British (150,902), and Germans (106,269), according to the Tourism Report 2015 published by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).
More than 5.4 million went abroad as outbound tourists in 2015. Cruise ship visitors to the Sultanate in 2015 topped 148,000, including 40,225 visitors from Germany, 13,849 from Italy, 9,688 from the UK, 8,578 from the Czech Republic, and 8,517 from the British Virgin Islands.
