Desert camps in Sharqiyah prepare for winter season

According to Ali bin Salim al Hajri, an owner of a desert safari camp in Bidiyah, camps began their preparations for the 2018-19 winter tourist season early by increasing facilities at the camps and adding new recreational and sports programmes to the calendar of activities. A popular tourist destination is the Rimal al Sharqiyah (Sharqiyah dunes), some 190km from the Governorate of Muscat. The easy to access area has seen a lot of improvement in infrastructure recently.

Mohammed bin Abdullah al Khunji, owner of Desert Nights Camp said that the camps across the governorate offer world-class facilities but not ignoring the local flavour. “Our camp allows visitors from across the world to experience Omani hospitality. The rooms and the surrounding areas are maintained well to give the visitors a real feel of the desert.”

The government has also been encouraging tourist camps to follow regulations.

Talal bin Khalfan al Shu’aibi, director of Tourism Department in the Governorate of North Sharqiyah said that there are 25 hotels in the governorate and many more are in the pipeline. Shu’aibi pointed out that the winter tourist season in Rimal al Sharqiyah, is also an opportunity for the small and medium enterprises in the area to market various services and sell authentic Omani products. Salah bin Salim al Hajri, Branch board member, OCCI in the Governorate of North Sharqiyah and head of the Tourism Committee in the branch said that the committee too plays a major role as a link between the owners of tourism institutions and government service sector by organising a number of educational seminars.