Tourism in the country, standing head above shoulders with diverse landscape of arid mountains and pristine beaches and greenery that offer a whiff of fresh air, is to scale greater heights in the international arena in the years to come, according to a top official at the Tourism Promotion. Speaking to the Observer on the Tourism Day which is on September 27 every year, Salim bin Adey al Maamari, Director-General of Tourism Promotion, welcomed the World Tourism theme “Tourism — Celebrating Diversity”, which highlights the importance of tourism not only in building international relations but also in developing sustainable destinations and connecting people, cultures and communities.
“This encourages us to celebrate the splendid diversity of Oman — whether it is its physical beauty, rich cultural history or its extra ordinary environmental credentials, which all together form the foundation for a robust tourism industry centered on a world class destination”, Al Maamari added. Given the fact that Sultanate is blessed with diverse landscape and several other geographical advantages, the coming year will see Oman Tourism and its associated activities becoming even more prominent in the international arena. “Let us together foster awareness of the importance of tourism and its social, cultural political and economic value and we are sure the results will be immense”, Al Maamari said.
Al Mamary said Oman Tourism is in the process of identifying and exploring newer markets to penetrate on a constant basis. “For us, innovation and exploration are a way of life; we keep vigil in recognising potential markets and products on a constant basis. Next year, we are going to penetrate in to India, Italy, Japan, China and so on while concentrating on the existing markets like UK, Germany, France and Scandinavian countries. We need to tackle potential markets in a professional way like leveraging with organisations and people of these countries”.
