Oman to organise various activities to mark World Tourism Day

Date

9/27/2016 1:12:59 AM

(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Muscat-

To promote awareness on the importance of tourism, and its social, cultural, political and economic value, Oman will celebrate World Tourism Day on Tuesday. The day is celebrated across the world on September 27 to coincide with the establishment of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in 1975.

The slogan for this year is 'Tourism for All: Promoting Universal Accessibility'. The Ministry of Tourism in Oman said it will organise a number of events to mark the day, including an open exhibition on Tuesday in the ministries with the participation of several parties from the public and private sectors.

Staff and students of educational institutions and employees of tourist companies, too will be included. In addition, a trip to the National Museum and the Royal Opera House Muscat for the ministry staff will be held on October 5. For the elderly, a trip to the Sultan's Armed Forces Museum and Muttrah Souq will be organised on October 9 and a cruise to Bandar Khairan for visually-impaired will be held on October 13.

H E Ahmed bin Nasser bin Hamad al Mehrzi, Minister of Tourism, said, 'We would like to use the day as an opportunity to take pride in the developments in Oman's tourism sector. We look forward to achieving our strategic tourism vision for 2040 which will completely change the face of tourism in the sultanate. Currently, tourism accounts for 30 per cent of the income from the services sector and we aim to bring 11mn domestic and international tourists by 2040.'

The tourism sector is one of the best performing non-oil sectors. The global indicators show an increasing trend towards the activation of travel and tourism to millions of people and the sultanate is seeking to get a good share of this growing industry. The sultanate seeks to raise the contribution of the tourism sector in GDP by attracting larger numbers of visitors from new and diverse markets. By the end of 2014, total tourism revenue in the sultanate has reached RO1.22bn, of which RO250,900,000 (19.5 per cent) was generated by inbound tourists to the sultanate. Domestic tourism revenues totalled RO97,100,000 (79.5 per cent).

The direct added value amounted to RO724,500,000, with a rise of 11 per cent as compared to RO653,200,000 in 2013. In order to increase its contribution to the economy, the government is adopting a new strategy to review everything related to attracting tourism investments. The direct contribution of the tourism sector in the GDP of the sultanate is currently two per cent.

The rate doubles when calculating the direct and indirect contribution of the sector. The direct contribution of the sector is expected to reach about 4.2 per cent by the end of the five-year ninth development plan (2020).

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