An easier visa system for Indians is included under plans to promote tourism in Oman, a senior official at the Ministry of Tourism said.

Salim Al Mamari, Oman’s director general of Tourism Promotion at the Ministry of Tourism, said: “China is rising, India is rising and Iran too after the removal of the sanctions. There are 100 million people living so close to us. It is low hanging fruit and visa facilitation will be given.” 

The Director General was speaking during the Ministry of Tourism organised Get Connected forum, held yesterday to boost tourism initiatives in Oman.

The ministry also revealed it has signed agreements with Russia, China and Iran to speed up visa processes.

“The Ministry has already signed agreements with immigration offices to facilitate visas for Russia, China and Iran. Hotels ranging from three to five stars and tour operators will be able to process visas for groups coming from the above said countries,” a power point presentation shown at the forum revealed.

Meanwhile, Santhosh Kanakandath, managing director of Assaraya Travel and Tourism, told the Times of Oman that easing the visa system for Indians will draw more Indian visitors to Oman and money for the country.

“We being in the field of tourism know that Indians love to visit Oman even if it is for a short period. When compared with other countries in the region, Oman has the most beautiful landscapes and is also the

safest and affordable,” Kanakandath said.

The travel expert added that recently, rich Indians are preferring Oman as their favourite wedding destination.

Between 2014 and January 2016, seven big fat Indian weddings have taken place in Oman.

Oman has conducted several road shows in Indian cities to promote Oman as a tourism destination.

According to Oman’s National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), Oman received 299,022 Indian nationals in 2015, reflecting a 17 per cent growth in 2015 from 2014.

India has been named the largest growing outbound tourism market in percentage terms, with the United Nations World Travel Organisation predicting 50 million Indians will travel overseas annually by 2020.

Meanwhile, another presentation at Get Connected revealed that “Discover Oman’s Beauty” campaign brought in 5,500 bookings in Oman within 20 weeks of its launch.

“Discover Oman’s Beauty” was one of the most important promotional campaigns conducted by the Ministry of Tourism last year and brought in OMR500,000 from hotel establishments.

During a presentation, the ministry also revealed that it aims to attract private sector investments of OMR1.8 billion, as well as increase added value in the tourism sector to OMR1 billion.

The forum was organised with the aim to facilitate direct communication between various entities and institutions in the Omani tourism sector.
 

In keeping with the same, Ahmed Bin Nasser Al Mahrizi said that they hope that the second Get Connected Forum has achieved its goal of effectively communicating the initiatives and projects that reflect the ongoing development in the tourism sector, as well as the new services that the sector will provide for citizens and tourists.

“Each and every establishment that is involved in the tourism sector is considered an important component of a promising and strong tourism market, which contributes to achieving the ministry’s vision and enriching the diversification of the economy; hence making it imperative for us to organise forums of this nature, which positively affect development of the tourism sector,” the minister said.

In addition to highlighting the current mega-projects that are expected to be established in the near future, the forum meeting aimed to shed light on the joint efforts that are being carried out by the Ministry in collaboration with all related parties of the forum, to equip all concerned, to deal with the challenges that have been discussed during the first meeting in 2014, together.

The agenda of the second forum included identifying the progress made by the Ministry of Tourism in cooperation with the concerned authorities, regarding the challenges discussed in the forum’s first edition. Additionally, it also highlighted the latest developments in the sector’s projects, and initiatives adopted by the ministry and key stakeholders involved in tourism services, such as Oman Air, Oman Sail and Omran.

Source: Timesofoman