Leisure is the way to go
Oman has witnessed 10 per cent surge in tourist arrivals from India in 2013. This was driven by leisure arrivals that grew 35 per cent during the last year.
Witnessing a steady growth in Indian arrivals, Oman is focussing on tapping the outbound pie from the market. “From the time we set up office in 2010 in India, we have seen a good year-on-year growth from this region. For instance, we saw a huge jump in 2013 over 2012. This was driven by leisure arrivals that grew 35 per cent. In 2013, there was a 10 per cent surge in tourist arrivals to Oman from India,” Lubaina Sheerazi, India Representative - Ministry of Tourism, Sultanate of Oman said.
Going forward, leisure travel and MICE will remain huge segments for Oman. It has also turned its attention towards Indian weddings over the past few years, and is positive that this trend will further drive tourist traffic from India to the destination. According to Sheerazi, Indian weddings and
Oman is a shorthaul destination with excellent connectivity with India. We want to tap this market and increase tourist arrivals from here
honeymoon are two very important markets that Oman needs to capture. “The Indian wedding industry is worth a whopping US$ 25 billion a year and is enjoying a 20 per cent year-on-year growth. Oman is a short-haul destination with excellent connectivity with India. We want to tap this market and increase tourist arrivals from here. Muscat serves as an excellent venue for an Indian wedding, with several world class hotels and resorts in its vicinity,” she added.
Talking about the importance of travel trade in India, she informed, “In order to give a firsthand experience to Indian outbound travel agents, the Ministry of Tourism, Oman in association with Oman Air recently, conducted a FAM trip for senior management of tour operators from Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Pune and Delhi. The travel trade has remained our primary focus. We are expanding our presence to Pune, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad also.”