NEW INITIATIVES: National Tourism Strategy set to begin in 2017
MUSCAT: The National Tourism Strategy, which aims to boost the sector in Oman, has been devised in cooperation with international tourism experts from Spain.
Giving details of the strategy, Ahmed bin Nasser al Mehrizi, Minister of Tourism, said the implementation of the strategy will begin at the end of 2017.
The minister was speaking at a meeting with participants of the Summer of Talents Programme organised by the Studies & Research Centre of Oman Establishment for Press, Publication and Advertising (OEPPA).
The minister said that work on a number of tourism projects is under way across the Sultanate including a water park in Salalah, a park in Al Azaiba, a zoo in Adam, a snow park among others.
There is a new initiative to roll out investment schemes for a limited period. The fall in oil prices has entailed boosting tourism sector by increasing the number of tourists and providing hotels and other services to the visitors.
The ministry is targeting 21,000 hotel rooms by 2020 from the existing 16,700, besides adding more hotels to the current figure of 281, he said.
Al Mehrizi said that the Ministry of Tourism is moving ahead with the improvement of the sector and projects which provide welfare of the citizens while maintaining the cultural identity of Oman.
The National Tourism Strategy focuses on places which have the potential to achieve a significant jump in the tourism sector such as Dhofar, Al Dakhiliyah, Musandam and Ras Al Had.
In 2015, 2.6 million tourists visited Oman, and the minister said that to support the national economy at a time of unstable oil prices, we have to find ways to increase the number of tourists and provide them with quality services.
Many hotels are currently under construction all over the Sultanate and by providing services the ministry targets to boost domestic tourism as well by encouraging citizens and residents to spend their vacations in Oman.
© Oman Daily Observer 2016
