Oman woos tourists with expanded air service

DOHA: Starting March 29, tourists heading to Oman to experience its natural beauty and rich culture will have more choice as Oman Air expands its services from the current seven flights a week to 18.

Ghalib Salim Bawazir, Country Manager of Oman Air in Doha, announced this during the GCC Roadshow held recently at the Ramada Plaza. Dubbed ‘Oman Short Breaks!,’ the event, which is part of a collaborative effort between Oman’s Ministry of Tourism and Oman Air to stage the biggest ever marketing campaign in the GCC, started on February 22 and ended on Wednesday. The campaign is supported by Oman’s major hotels and resorts.

The roadshow offered affordable short holiday packages to Oman, inviting visitors to see the country’s natural wonders, such as Jebel Akhdar’s terraces, Sharqiyah’s sands and Mayshayl’s unique blow holes. Desert adventure, rock climbing and turtle watching packages were just some of the attractive short-breaks holiday packages on offer.

With this endeavour, Oman wants to build a very strong presence in Qatar and other GCC countries as their preferred destination.

Dr Rajiha Abdul Ameer Ali, Oman’s Minister of Tourism, earlier said an increase in Oman’s marketing effort in the GCC was signalled to the industry last June. The minister said the marketing effort in the GCC region will take advantage of the increasing popularity of Oman among tourists and the low cost of air access.

The campaign coincides with Oman Air’s ongoing expansion. Peter Hill, Oman’s Air’s Chief Executive Officer, said Oman Air was investing heavily to boost connectivity. “By the end of March, we will operate around 120 services per week to GCC city gateways, a vast improvement on current schedules,” Hill said.

To accommodate the influx of customers, Oman Air is opening a new and larger office in Al Sadd next month, Bawazir announced.