Means of enhancing tourism cooperation with India explored

MUSCAT: Ahmed bin Nasser al Mehrzi, Minister of Tourism, received in his office on Monday Suresh Prabhu, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Civil Aviation in the friendly Republic of India, who is currently visiting the Sultanate.

The two sides explored means of enhancing the tourism cooperation between the Sultanate and India. They also reviewed the efforts done by the Ministry of Tourism in the Sultanate to promote the tourism sector and develop it according to a sustainable vision that focus mainly on quality of products and service and maintain the Omani identity as a basic principle for promoting the Sultanate.

The meeting included a presentation on the Omani tourism strategy which focuses on responsible and sustainable tourism principle and opening investments in the tourism sector. It also targets attracting 11 million domestic and foreign tourists by 2040.

AL Mehrzi said that the parties agreed to activate the MOU which was signed between the two sides in February 2018 and build upon what have been agreed during the visit of the Indian Prime Minister last year.

The Ministry of Tourism plans to organise a number of awareness seminars on tourism in the Sultanate. The seminars will be organised in three main cities in India namely Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad.

It will also organise B2B meeting between Omani and Indian businessmen in tourism and investment sectors.

The meeting was attended by the Indian Ambassador to the Sultanate and a number of officials at the Ministry of Tourism.