Muscat: Nearly 820,000 people visited the 10-day long Muscat International Book Fair at the Oman International Exhibition Centre that concluded on Saturday.
It hosted more than 1,200 pavilions this year which was far more than 950 in 2016. The turnout of visitors was also up by 20,000 from the previous year.
“The high turnout reflects the great demand for books in Oman,” said the organising committee of the fair.
Rana Edrees, owner of the Al Adab Publishing house, who participated in the Muscat Book Fair for the first time, told Gulf News that she sold out all of her books.
“I didn’t expect such a high demand, especially from Omanis,” she told Gulf News.
On the last day of the fair books were heavily discounted.
“I bought around 20 books for only 30 riyals,” Ahmad Al Masroori, a visitor, said.
The 22nd edition of Muscat International Book Fair 2017 kicked off on February 22 with participation of more than 750 publishing houses from 28 countries around the world.
Dr Abdul Munim Al Hasani, Minister of Information, said that the organising committee tried to provide an authentic Omani experience to authors and organised various cultural activities for visitors. The committee also organised activities for children.
