Oman records 17% rise in Indian tourist arrivals in 2015

Oman received 17 per cent more Indian tourists in 2015 at 299,022 than in 2014 and the Arab nation is expanding its basket of holiday-related activities to attract more travellers from the country.
"Oman received 299,022 Indian tourists last year, recording a 17 per cent growth over 2014," according to Oman's National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).
The statistics also reflects a growth of 60 per cent in Indian arrivals in the nation on the Arabian Peninsula in the last five years.
"The increase is very encouraging and reflects all the hard work we have put in promoting and marketing the destination in India.

"In 2014, we started promoting Oman as an ideal wedding destination for Indians as Muscat is close to India. Our efforts were rewarded as we witnessed several large-scale weddings in the last two years," Oman Tourism Ministry's India Representative Lubaina Sheerazi said in a release here.
She said MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions) tourism in Oman has also seen an increase and the country will make efforts at hosting more such events.

Muscat has recently seen growth in the MICE market and this is expected to expand even faster with the opening of a new Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre in the capital, Sheerazi said.

"To attract more tourists from India, we are looking at promoting various activities. We have observed over the years that Indian travellers don't travel just for sight-seeing and shopping anymore.
"More young people are now travelling and they prefer active holidays and we have a lot to offer to these travellers - from canyoning to deep sea diving, from sailing to golfing," Sheerazi added.