Oman plans big share in Arab tourism market

Dr Bandar bin Fahd al Fuhaid, Chairman of the Arab Tourism Organisation, affirmed that the Sultanate is witnessing major developments in tourism sector, thanks to the stability and security of the sector, the availability of proper infrastructure, the integration of tourism services and the diversity of tourism models. In a statement to Oman News Agency (ONA), Al Fuhaid pointed out that the Sultanate can take a big share of the Arab Tourism Market and that the best evidence for this is the selection of Muscat as the Capital of Arab Tourism from among 22 Arab capital cities. He noted that the latest statistics show that the Sultanate recently attracted more than 1.6 million tourists and that this number is expected to increase in the coming years. The Arab Tourism Organisation is fully ready to co-operate with the Tourism Ministry in establishing investment companies and funds that work alongside with government to provide the infrastructure and services required by tourism sector in the Sultanate. He pointed out that the Organisation co-operated earlier with the Ministry in providing tourism guarantees for a number of investors, said Al Fuahid, who affirmed that the current conditions in the Arab region are among the major challenges facing the Arab tourism sector as they noticeably affected the sector which incurred more than $10 billion losses and missed more than 6 million tourists. The Arab organisation has made great effort to mitigate the risks by organising conferences and seminars and designing programmes at reduced rates. It also removed the taxes imposed on investors and provided them with investment guarantees. In a bid to prevent the migration of capitals, the Arab Tourism Organisation signed an agreement with the Islamic Bank to provide insurance policies to guarantee investments and export credits.