BARKA The Department of Sustainable Tourism and Regional Development (STRD) of GUtech is organizing in cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism and under the auspices of HE the Undersecretary of the Ministry Tourism a one-day Tourism Forum to be held on Wednesday 26 February from 9am-4pm at GUtech in Halban.
The Oman Tourism Forum (OTF) is open to interested individuals and organisations. "OTF aims to highlight the current status of tourism development in Oman and to establish a platform for a fruitful discussion amongst all stakeholders on the role this strategic sector for socio-economic development of Oman," said Prof. Dr. Heba Aziz, Head of the STRD Department at GUtech and president of the forum. She added: "This important forum was organised by the final year tourism students as part of their event management course. I am so proud of them and the efforts and dedication that they have put into that event which went beyond the requirement of their course. Students fundraised to finance this event and were convincing in attracting important stakeholders to support their initiative. Students also designed the logo, came up with the themes, and identified measures in which their event could benefit the local community.
The forum revolves around three main themes: visions and strategies, tourism operations, projects and enterprises and research and innovations. Papers presented will cover the Oman tourism strategy by the ministry of tourism; the main tourism indicators presented by the National Center for Statistics and Information, the reality of tourism employment by the ministry of manpower. In addition to presentations discussion a number of tourism projects both major and small. The forum will also dedicate a session on the most recent research conducted on Oman.
In the opening session Nabil Al Busaidy, the first Arab and Omani to climb Mount Everest and to row the Atlantic, will give a motivational speech about his travels and how as a young Omani he learned to challenge himself and take risks to reach his goals.
The STRD Department is extremely grateful for the generous support of The Research Council, Ithraa (previously, the Public Authority for Investment Promotion and Export Development), Omran, the National Ferry Company, Naseej Oman and Al Royaa publishing. This diverse range of sponsors is only reflective of all the sectors that the tourism industry can impact.
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For registration visit the website www.gutech.edu.om. For further information please contact: otf@gutech.edu.om
© Press Release 2014
