(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Muscat- To attract more tourists from Oman, the Wonderful Indonesia Festival held its first roadshow in Muscat on Tuesday.
The event aimed to promote various destinations in the Southeast Asian nation as leisure, adventure and wellness spots.
H E Musthofa Taufik Abdul Latif, Indonesian Ambassador to Oman said, 'In one year, from 2016, the increase [of visitors from Oman] has reached 40 per cent. In 2015, the number was 7,000; in 2016 it reached 12,000 and this year so far there have been 9,000 people. It continues to increase.'
Nour Aridi, country manager, Visit Indonesia tourism Office (VITO) said, 'We have seen that there is a potential for Omani travellers. There has been an increase of 60 per cent tourists from Oman in July itself. The increasing trend was noticed in people going for diving and honeymooning.'
Nour added, 'We want to work closely with travel agencies in Oman to develop this in a bigger way. There is a concern about volcano eruption in Bali, but we would like to assure travellers that the country has more than 17,000 islands to explore. As far as Bali is concerned, till today people are visiting and haven't cancelled their trips.
'Indonesia has something for everyone from beaches to night life. Jakarta's Thousand Islands are good for snorkelling and diving as well as MICE events. We have visa-free entry for Omanis. We are very flexible about visas with most of the nationalities. This encourages more people to visit the destination.'
She said Oman is the market which has shown the highest growth rate in the GCC.
'We were overwhelmed by the growth trend shown by Omani travellers. There is a slight decrease in the number of tourists from the UAE and Qatar due to competition by airlines.'
Nour added, 'There is a push for wellness and spa tourism, beauty, detox, yoga etc. Bali's hot springs as well as remedial and healing traditions too attract tourists looking for wellness retreats.
'We are working closely with Oman Air as it has direct flights to Jakarta and hope to get more direct flights to different places in the near future.'
The event was attended by tour operators and travel agents in Oman.
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