(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) The Ministry of Tourism (MoT) is eyeing the Saudi market to attract tourists and investment in the tourism sector.
The ministry recently hosted a group of media persons from Saudi Arabia and informed them about growth and investment prospects in the tourism industry.
Salem al Mamari, director of development at MoT, said the Saudi tourism industry is very important as it's a high-yield market for Oman.
As the first step in creating awareness about Oman, MoT opened a tourism office in Saudi Arabia last year.
''We're continually trying to attract Saudi tourists to Oman. Our statistics show an increase in Saudi tourists to several places in Oman, particularly Salalah,'' Mamari was quoted as saying in the Saudi media.
The ministry wants to attract Saudi tourists to other places in the country. Mamari said 17,000 Saudis visited the country, mainly Salalah, last year; however, this is a small fraction of Saudi's outbound tourist market.
Talking about the investment scene and tourist amenities, Mamari said the sultanate boasts of a highly-developed infrastructure in terms of hotels, transport and communications, and it provides attractive incentives for investments.
''We provide contracts for between 50 and 90 years. In addition, travellers from 66 nations can get visas on arrival.
''The others can get visas from tourism offices. Citizens of GCC countries can enter Oman without visas. We don't care about the numbers but the quality of tourists coming to Oman. We're trying to reach a situation where Gulf tourists can move around the region like Europeans do on their continent.''
To boost its presence in Saudi Arabia, the ministry also participated in Riyadh Travel Fair 2013 and is gearing up to attend another one from April 15-18. The fair is the largest travel and tourism exhibition and congress attracting visitors and delegates from the Middle East, North Africa, Asia and Europe.
H E Maitha al Mahrouqi, Undersecretary, MoT, in an earlier statement published in Muscat Daily had said, ''We welcome visitors from Saudi Arabia and recognise the need to invest our time in the market, especially to build awareness about Oman's attractions and natural beauty.
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