Days after the country relaxed restrictions on Covid-19 protocols heralding the ‘new normal’, the Sultanate of Oman’s domestic tourist spots reported a huge number of visitors over the weekend supporting the local tourism, SMEs and auxiliary start-ups.
In the past two weekends, most of the local tourism destinations have been witnessing a heavy number of people comprising citizens and expatriates visiting the beaches, caves, forts, deserts and springs across the country.
“We visited the Wakan village last weekend and spent a few hours from 8 am to 11 am and we could see visitors in many groups climbing up and down the village underlining the fact that life is slowly getting back on track thanks to the incessant efforts of one and all, the MoH, the ROP and others under the able guidance of the Supreme Committee,” said Mini Padikkal, clinical dietician at NMC Gobra, who visited the village with a group of friends.
The small scale vendors around most of the tourist sites, say, cab drivers, restaurateurs and supermarkets are in an upbeat mood as they started getting busier as pandemic restrictions have been eased.
“We are happy that life is getting normal and we are able to offer unmatching value-added services to the yearning visitors within the Covid protocols,” Kareem Abdulla, a shopkeeper near Bilad al Sham, said.
“Since the restrictions were eased, we have been receiving many citizens as well as expatriates to the Wadi Hoqain in the evenings and more so during the weekends and we are happy that things are getting better post pandemic,” Said al Numani, who runs a joint near the Nizwa Castle, said.
The domestic tourism in the Sultanate of Oman has been on the path of a major rebound as the Covid restrictions began to ease since January.
Travel experts say that the Sultanate of Oman’s outdoor season is ideal just as the summer began to set in for those seeking comfort, outdoor entertainment and adventure. Weather is great during winter months that attract even foreign visitors to make the Sultanate of Oman as their ideal place for winter vacation.
“The Sultanate of Oman is a perfect destination to plan your holiday throughout the year especially from October to April to enjoy the beaches as well as the mountains. The Sultanate of Oman is a preferred destination among the couples who are looking for destination wedding options as well,” says Sunil D’Souza, Chief Executive Officer, TravelPoint LLC, which receives tourists mainly from Europe, India, China and the Gulf region.
“We experience that the travel market is slowly and steadily gaining its ground as the country has relaxed a lot of the travel restrictions to ease travel procedures even favourable for both inbound and outbound travellers,” said Venkat, a travel expert.
Similarly, shopping malls too have been welcoming a steady stream of customers as the fear of Covid is waning away in the minds of the people these days.
Speaking to the Observer on the sidelines of the “Souq Ramadhan” at Lulu Nujum Mall in Al Amerat in the presence of Shaikh Mohammed bin Humaid al Ghabshi, Wali of Al Amerat, Yahya al Ghadani, Assistant Director-General of Al Amerat Municipality, and senior officials of Lulu Group, KA Shabeer, General Manager, said the shopper turnout has been overwhelming.
“Customer turnout at our malls has been astounding since the restrictions eased compared to the period when stringent measures were in place. We are launching the Ramadhan Souq expecting a sound response from the shoppers,” Shabeer said.
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