OMAN MINISTRY OF TOURISM MARKS ITS TENTH ANNIVERSARY

   THE SULTANATE OF OMAN MINISTRY OF TOURISM MARKS ITS TENTH ANNIVERSARY,

   PAST ACHIEVEMENTS AND NEW DEVELOPMENTS DURING WORLD TRAVEL MARKET.

Oman’s Ministry of Tourism tenth anniversary marks its many achievements over the past ten years in particular consistent visitor growth and the accolades received for its successful marketing campaigns. Her Excellency Maitha Al Mahrouqi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Tourism is joined at WTM by a delegation from the ministry and 21 companies from the Oman private sector at the cutting of an anniversary cake on Monday, the first day of the exhibition. Her Excellency will be joining other Minister’s from all over the world to discuss the impact of mega-events on tourism at this year’s UNWTO WTM Summit and will share Oman’s own experience of hosting the annual Tour of Oman international cycle race in its 15^th year.

UK visitor numbers have grown from 25,000 in 2003 to 133,529 in 2013 and Worldwide to nearly 1.4 million in 2013 while the most recent accolade received from the travel trade, the Star Middle East Tourist Office Award, will be presented to Her Excellency, Maitha Al Mahrouqi at this year’s exhibition.

New events include a long-distance classic car rally organised by British company Rally Royale to be launched on the first day of WTM. The Oman Grand Tour 2015 will have owners of pre-seventies vintage and classic cars taking part in the 21-day trip across the country that is expected to cover over 4,000 kilometres, starting on October 18, 2015. The Tour, which will be the first of its kind in the Gulf region, will also coincide with Oman's 45th National Day celebrations.

Private sector representatives are attending WTM as an opportunity to promote Oman’s latest accommodation openings including the Alila Jabal Akhdar mountain resort, the first five star hotel in Dhofar, the Salalah Rotana Resort and the Al Nahda Resort & Spa 30-room desert resort, Dunes by Al Nahda opening in 2015. Further properties in the pipeline to be opened in the next two years include The Kempinski Hotel (2015) and The Fairmont Hotel (2016) at Muscat’s The Wave. The Ministry is looking towards Wellness Tourism as a new sector for growth with new spa resorts coming on board. Muscat has seen recent growth in the MICE market and this is anticipated to grow even faster with the opening of the new Oman Convention and Exhibition centre in 2016.

Oman’s Ministry of Tourism is the proud sponsor of the World Responsible Tourism Awards on the third day of WTM and will be talking at length about the destination's sustainable tourism offerings. A new Public Transport Master Plan to be ready by December 2014 and once implemented will provide a state of the art bus network that can be integrated into bus rapid transit (BRT) and light rail transit (LRT) systems at a later stage.

The Sultanate of Oman stand is the ideal spot for WTM visitors to take a short well deserved break during the show where they will find Omani coffee and dates served in traditional Omani style, a Just A Drop Water refill area and travel agents will have the chance to win an iPad Mini in a business card draw where every travel agent entry will receive a ceramic keying or banner pen.

For more information please visit: www.omantourism.gov.om