MUSCAT -- Muscat's Port Sultan Qaboos played host to a trio of luxury cruise liners over the weekend, affording passersby along the corniche a spectacle more reminiscent of European ports, but increasingly a trend in Oman ports nowadays. Costa Luminosa, an Italian cruise liner, and Brilliance of the Seas and The World of the United States came calling on simultaneous visits to Muscat.
The presence of three elegant liners gracing the historical harbour not only made for a splendid sight but also underscored the city's enduring appeal as a stopover for a growing number of international cruise ships. Leading destination and leisure management company Zahara Tours led the welcome for the three liners when they arrived in port at the weekend. As shore-based tour operators, Zahara Tours provides ground-handling services to the vast proportion of cruise ships visiting the Sultanate.
Before the end of the current cruise season in May, the company will have handled in excess of 100 cruise calls over the course of the eight-month season that began in October -- a feat that attests to Zahara's unrivalled capabilities as Oman's premier provider of ground handling services to visiting cruise ships.
Over 100 vehicles and around 200 staff were mobilised to provide shore-based tours to passengers of the visiting cruise ships in a seamless operation organised by Zahara over the weekend. Two of the cruise liners had on board in excess of 2,000 tourists apiece, underlining the magnitude of the entire ground-handling operation by the company.
In a further demonstration of its robust capabilities, Zahara Tours also managed the visit of a fourth luxury cruise ship, Cruise West, at Khasab Port at the weekend. A range of shore-based tours and dhow cruises organised by Zahara afforded the visitors the opportunity to enjoy Musandam's enchanting natural attractions. Zahara Tours has been working closely with the Ministry of Tourism in its ongoing drive to promote Oman as a leading cruise destination in this region.
The recent opening of Oman's first Passenger Cruise Terminal at Port Sultan Qaboos is a reflection of the government's continuing efforts to attract more liners to Muscat and other Omani ports, an objective keenly supported by the Port Services Corporation, Royal Oman Police, and other government agencies.
"For our part, Zahara Tours has been working with cruise liners around the world to raise awareness of Oman's unique tourist appeal and pristine natural environment that make it an ideal stopover for cruise liners. The success of these calls would help in attracting other cruise companies, looking at the region as a hub for their ships," said Gautam Broota, General Manager, Zahara Tours.
Significantly, Zahara Tours is the only company to have been bestowed the coveted 'Oman Excellence Award' in the tourism category for a record three times. Besides, Ports Services Corporation, which manages Port Sultan Qaboos in Muscat, conferred a special honour on Zahara Tours for its significant contribution to cruise tourism in the Tour Operators Category.
By Staff Reporter
© Oman Daily Observer 2010
