Pinch yourself around Oman
Have you ever been caught in the wilderness or at the crossroads in Oman and wondered which way to head to? Do you often feel lost when your GPS goes on the blink and search engines leave you wanting?
Just ‘pinch’ yourself, and you would be on the right track in seconds, heading to your destination, learning more about landmarks and locations and getting enlightened about the significance of each trip.
It’s that simple – just download a new effective app on your smart phone, called ‘Pinch’, and scroll through immense information about sites, trekking routes, forts and castles, landmarks, cities, towns, fishing villages, adventure sports, dining options, educative tours, et al. And if your’re wondering ‘why Pinch’, it’s exactly what you do on your smartphone screen to zoom out or into get details about various locations on your fingertips.
Developed by a talented entrepreneur, Fahmi al Ma’awali, this app has been designed to go one step further than the search engines which give inadequate information to people visiting Oman or any other places in the world. Fahmi’s app serves just as a personal guide, giving seekers exactly what they want to know. And, one can also leave back feedback or seek personal assistance via a phone call, in case of any bottlenecks or hurdles.
“The difference between my app and those of all the existing app developers is that I have a marketing angle,” says Fahmi, explaining that, besides this, he also has been networking with a lot of government agencies and is aiming to use that angle to give this app the much-needed legitimacy to take it forward.
“Once we get into the Ministry of Tourism, we would be able to actually explore Saudi Arabia, and specifically Germany,” he said, adding, “What is great about this app is that an Omani can use it right away to travel to four countries - Oman, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Jordan - with all locations ready, rather than research about them. The pins provided on each of the locations are just like the Google searches but there is additional information available on Pinch to actually select exactly what one is looking for, like trekking, diving, mountain climbing, etc.
Fahmi says he hit upon developing this app during the COVID-19 pandemic, when he had extra time on hand, to enable domestic tourism in Oman pick up. He now sees it as a formidable tool in the hands of tourists and visitors who can experience the beauty of Oman without having to hire out expensive tour operators or guides to show them around.
Pinch.om has three primary objectives – to boost domestic tourism; empower guides and monetise expertise, besides ensuring safety of visitors and eliminating the mystery in some destinations which often causes loss of time. In fact, he admits, that he chose to develop this app when he himself faced dead ends when visiting certain places for which no information or guidance was available.
Fahmi upholds the role of guides who, he says, play a crucial role in giving visitors to Oman a genuine experience without any hurdles. And this app will also serve as a handy tool for guides to divulge informa