Muscat: The latest report from NCSI Oman (National Centre for Statistics and Information) for the month of November indicate a sustained drop in flights and passengers this year. There was a 32 per cent decrease in passengers and 23 per cent in flights operated from Oman’s main airport, Muscat International Airport, until September this year. This was mainly due to the closure of borders for international passengers from certain countries for a specific period this year.
Additionally, the continuation of air bubble agreement between India and Oman, allowed only specific designated carriers of both the countries to operate flights.
The report also added that the expatriate population in Oman continues to be dominated by Bangladeshis followed by Indians and Pakistanis. Coming fourth in the expatriate population chart are Filipinos.
Arrivals from India were the highest for September followed by Bangladesh and Pakistan. Departures from Oman too clocked in maximum from India, followed by Bangladesh and Pakistan.
The tourism industry, meanwhile, showed an uptick, with 80 per cent occupancy in hotels during September this year which is almost 21 per cent above the same period last year. About 86,000 guests stayed in hotels in the month of September. With many hotels in Oman offering ‘staycation’ deals, domestic tourism flourished.
