Tapping tourists from two mega-events in Oman's neighbour

While consecutive two years have been nearly a washout for the tourism industry in the country because of the pandemic, the two mega-events projected for the region are a ray of hope for the sector.

Salim bin Mohammed al Mahrouqi, Minister of Heritage and Tourism, said that there is a plan to cooperate with the authorities concerned to take advantage of the Dubai Expo 2020 and 2022 World Cup in Qatar to attract tourists to the country.

Expo 2020, which will run from October to March, is expected to bring over 5 million tourists to Dubai. Oman can tap the Expo as an opportunity as the next-door neighbour easily accessed by a good road network and a fully established aviation sector.

With the vaccination drive expected to pick up in Oman from next month, the authorities are expected to open the travel between the two countries with restrictions and formalities.

The World Cup 2022 in Qatar is also expected to bring different tourists to the region, even though the country is not directly accessible to Oman by road.

“Expo 2020 is more important to Oman because of the accessibility and proximity. With less than four months to go for the start of the event, we need to launch some major preparations and planning,” said an Omani tourism operator, who has been seriously affected by the restrictions to limit the spread of the virus.

He said, “First we have to activate the taxi services as the operators have been badly affected by the continuous lockdowns over the past year. With tourists most likely to travel by road, they must be provided with affordable transport. Secondly, we also need a few budget hotels that are close to tourist and commercial attractions. Government should offer incentives to property owners and small and medium tour operators so that can put infrastructure in place within a time frame.”

Apart from the infrastructure, Oman should be able to offer more than its famed beaches and mountains or wadis.

Oman has also exempted 130 nationalities from tourist visas, which will benefit the visitors to Dubai Expo 2020.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) recently called for requests to establish and operate amphibious aircraft services.

The bid is for an operating license ‘for aircraft with a capacity of 19 seats or less or with a maximum take-off weight of fewer than 10 tonnes.

“What we offer here in Oman are also available in other cities on a larger scale. The unique selling point is the hospitality and friendly local population. We need to activate services for trekking, affordable trips to mountains, deserts and water.”