OMAN: Oman Air Not Interested In Buying Stake In Air India

Oman Air is looking to grow flights into India, but the carrier’s plans don’t include buying any stakes in airling Air India.

CEO Paul Gregorowitsch said the Gulf’s history with buying stakes in legacy airlines hasn’t born fruit.

As a businessman, you are far more eager to participate with a profit-making airline and not having the legacy of the state airline, Gregorowitsch telling reporters at a roundtable.

If you look at what the neighbouring Gulf airlines have done with state airlines in Europe, you see that those investments have been a complete failure.

Today we have no interest to make a bid for Air India or part of Air India.

If it would come to it, we would team up with a promising proposition from a successful Indian airline than setting up our own or getting involved with an ailing Indian airline, he added.

Gregoroswitch does, however, have an eye on adding to capacity within the country, a plan which involves growing its wide body fleet.

India’s National Civil Aviation Policy formulated in 2016 looks to enter the country in reciprocal air service agreements with SAARC countries as well as those located within 5,000 kilometres from New Delhi.




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OMAN: Port Sultan Qaboos A US$ 1 Billion Integrated Tourist Port And Lifestyle Waterfront

Damac International has been selected by the Oman government to develop its Port Sultan Qaboos into a US$ 1 billion integrated tourist port and lifestyle waterfront destination that will include hotels, residences, dining and retail offerings.

The Mina Sultan Qaboos Waterfront project will be handled by Damac through a joint venture with Omran, the government's investment body.

Hussain Sajwani, chairman of Damac Properties, and His Excellency Dr. Ali bin Masoud Al Sunaidy, deputy chairman of the Supreme Council for Planning, Minister of Commerce & Industry and chairman of Omran, signed a memorandum of understanding in the presence of His Excellency Dr. Ahmed Al Futaisi, minister of transport & communications and Omran board member, as well as other Omran board members and key dignitaries.

Damac was chosen by Omran for its experience in developing residential and leisure projects in the Gulf and internationally.

This historic agreement reflects the vision of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said to transform Oman into a world-class tourism and investment destination, said Sajwani. As the second largest developer in the region and with a strong record of international experience, Damac is ideally positioned as the joint development partner of Omran.

As part of its commitment to the project, Damac will contribute to the local road infrastructure, improving opportunities for local SMEs and Omani nationals, as well as enhancing the economic and social standing of the community as a whole.

H.E. Dr. Ali Al Sunaidy said: Mina Sultan Qaboos Waterfront is based in the 200-year old historical centre of commerce in Muscat and is one of the most visited tourist destinations in Oman. The redevelopment of the port by Omran will build renewed interest and focus to the area, while creating a strong investment proposition for the tourism, real estate and leisure industries.

H.E. Dr. Ahmed Al Futaisi commented: The transformation of the port into a thriving economic and tourist hub stems from His Majesty's vision to move commercial port activity to Port Sohar, paving the way for the redevelopment of the port into an integrated tourist hub.

As of March 31, 2017, Damac Properties has a development portfolio of over 44,000 units at various stages of progress and planning, comprising more than 13,000 hotel rooms, serviced apartments and hotel villas, which will be managed by its hospitality arm, Damac Hotels & Resorts.

OMAN: e-visa Portal Launched By Sultanate of Oman

The Sultanate of Oman has launched an e-visa process, which in its first phase in being made available for 67 tourist countries and up to 116 professions.

The project is aimed at speeding up the application and fee payment process through an online portal, and link it with relevant ministries, such as the Ministry of Manpower with regards to work-permits, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in relation to the validity of the commercial register and the Ministry of Civil Service in respect of government visas for foreign civil servants.

The new project currently has two visa types,tourist and residence visas, Hilal bin Ahmed al- Busaidi, director general of passports and residency said that work is underway for the GCC residents list.

Once the next phase has been implemented, it is expected that all nationalities will be allowed to apply online.

This new system will also allow hotels, travel agents, and tour operators apply for e-visas for their guests online, via the Royal Oman Police (ROP) website, with the fees remaining the same.

Oman's tourism sector saw three million tourists enter the country in 2016, with predictions that it will reach 4.7 million by 2020, reported the state's news agency.

Meanwhile,Indian Ocean Islands are fast becoming the new hotspot for Arab travellers, as bookings to the nearby tropics flood in, according to regional travel agents.

Figures from the Maldives Tourism Board say trips to the Islamic country by Arab tourists rose more than 22 percent between 2009 and 2010, despite the impact of the global financial crisis.

Holidays to the Seychelles by Middle East travellers have also surged, official data shows, with visits from GCC residents by the end of September this year beating those recorded for the whole of 2010.

Located on the East of Africa, the Indian Ocean Islands including Comoros, Seychelles, Mauritius, Maldives and Madagascar, offer a tropical climate all year round, and have long been popular among holiday-makers and honeymooners around the world.

“We’re talking about [growth of] 15 to 25 percent a year in holidays to the Indian Ocean Islands,” said Frederic Bardin, senior vice president at Emirates Holidays. “Good year, bad year, it doesn’t matter, people just want to go there.

I think there are a lot of Arabs who have just recently discovered the region.

The top destinations for Arabs are still in Europe, but the Seychelles is probably creeping into the top 10 now.

Basel Abu Alrub, managing director of Dubai-based travel agency U travel, said GCC residents are attracted to the region Islands for its close proximity to the Gulf, and ability to accommodate Islamic customs.

Proximity is a big factor, as the islands are only four hours away.

Islam is also spread in some of the islands, which appeals to the GCC traveller and makes them feel at home.

Many hotel properties offer Al Hilal food, and they also recognise that privacy is an issue.”

Earlier this month, Abu Dhabi’s flagship carrier Etihad Airways launched its first flights from the UAE to the Maldives and the Seychelles, in a bid to tap into the growing market.

Company executives said the destinations were “highly desirable” among Arab travellers, making flight connectivity to the region “fundamental” for Etihad’s growth.

In March, Dubai-based Emirates Airline announced a 100 percent increase in the frequency of flights between Dubai and the Seychelles, with as many as 14 flights per week expected by the end of the year.

As compared to January 2010, we are increasing the capacity between Dubai and the Seychelles by 350 percent, said Majid Al Mualla, senior vice president, Commercial Operations - West Asia and Indian Ocean.

The increase in frequency is the fruit of all our efforts and investment in promoting the Seychelles across our network. Our recent campaigns have stepped up demand for the route as well as opened up new feeder markets.

Travel agents expect that airlines will further boost the number of flights to the region in the coming years, increasing demand for new hotel properties.

The number of Arab visitors to the region will continue to increase in the range of 15-20 percent, Alrub said, boosting the need for mid-level properties in particular.

OMAN: Tourism Is Very Important For Oman

The Sultanate of Oman is diversifying its economicy, tourism can play a pivotal role to boost non-oil revenue for the country.

In this context, the efforts by Ministry of Tourism are laudable to a greater extent especially in the present testing times of plunging oil prices.

However, the ministry has a long way to go to make Oman a preferred destination in the Middle East. There is a decrease of 10.5 per cent in the revenues of 3-5 stars hotel till October 2016 at RO 16.7 million compared to RO 18.7 million in October 2015.

Latest figures released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information reveals that 2.5 million visitors arrived in the Sultanate till October 2016. Indian, British and Philippine nationalities came at the second, third and fourth place consecutively where they formed 11.2 per cent, 7.2 per cent and 5.1 per cent.

However, double the number at 4.9 million visitors departed the Sultanate in the same period. The Gulf visitors come at the first place, where their number reached 74,000 visitors forming 38.3 per cent during October 2016.

The Omanis departure constitute 65.3 per cent out of the total visitors departing the Sultanate during October 2016.

The importance of the tourism sector at global level can be gauged through a report by World Tourism Organization.

According to the organisation, the tourism sector promotes inclusive and sustainable economic growth by 4 per cent annual increase in international tourist arrivals since 2009, 7 per cent of total world exports and 30 per cent of world services exports, $1.5 trillion in exports from international tourism in 2015 and 10 per cent of world GDP.

The Oman’s Ministry of Tourism is globally marketing the country as a destination for cultural, heritage, natural and adventure tourism.

However, the marketing needs to be aligned with the global trends, like the United Nations 70th General Assembly has designated 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development.

It is aimed to support a change in policies, business practices and consumer behaviour towards a more sustainable tourism sector that can contribute to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Ministry of Tourism has to tune in their marketing strategy in accordance to these developments to reap benefits internationally.

According to a report by World Tourism Organization, leisure, recreation and holidays constitute 53 per cent of the global inbound tourism followed by health and religion at 27 per cent; while business and professional purposes constitute 14 per cent.

The Ministry of Tourism has to closely monitor these purposes of tourism and tailor their plan to grab the maximum benefits.
The tourism sector has a tremendous potential given the size, location and natural beauty of the country.

The Sultanate of Oman has an area of 309,500 sq kms having coastal length of 3,165 kms and highest mountain peak of 10,000 ft: Jebel Shams.

The Nakhl Fort, Royal Opera House Muscat, AlKasfah Spring, Bandar Khayran Reserve, Jebel Shams (Sun Mountain), Sea Road and Turtle Reserve are some of the tourist attractions that need to be marketed at international forms to attract global tourists and should be developed to cater to international tourists.

While focusing on tourism development project a proper implementation of Development Control Plan Framework (DCPF) which was prepared by the Ministry of Tourism in coordination with the Ministry of Housing, Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources, Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs, Muscat Municipality and Supreme Committee for Town Planning should be followed for sustainable development of tourism projects.

OMAN: Oman Wants Tourism Growth

Oman is looking for growth in its mid-market travel sector as challenging global and regional economic conditions weigh on people’s willingness to spend.

That is one of the reasons we are focusing on rural areas to bring more tourists to Oman, a senior official attached to Oman’s tourism sector said.

A tourism department official said a 23-room hotel in Ibra is opening in September 2017.

Ibra is the second largest city in the Ash Sharqiyah region of Oman and is about 170 km from Muscat. In the past, it was famous for its fine horses and horsemen.

Another hotel with six chalets featuring private swimming pools is coming up at Bidiyah. “It is likely to open in April 2017,” an official said.

Bidiyah, located in Ash Sharqiyah region, is 233 kms from Muscat and is well known for its golden sand dunes that attract tourists from all over the world.

Recently, the Ministry of Tourism (MOT) had announced opening up of three new budget hotels in Muscat in the first quarter of 2017 to boost Oman’s tourism.

Detailing the projects, the MoT said Hisn Al Musannah Hotel with 40 rooms is set to open in April 2017.

Al Salam hotel apartment, opening in Barka in February 2017, will have 30 apartments catering to the tourists, the MoT said.

The ministry also announced that another hotel is coming up in Barka. “Orchid Hotel with 27 apartments will be opened this year,” the MoT said recently.

Travel agents said these budget hotels will boost tourism in a significant manner since the Sultanate has a shortage of such hotels.

“A lot of travellers look for budget accommodation. So it would be great if we have more hotels which can cater to tourists who do not look at four or five star accommodation,” said an official of New Star Travel in Ruwi.

Oman is looking at 8-12 per cent annual growth in tourism.