Muscat: The Ministry of Heritage and Tourism (MHT) said on Monday that Gulf markets have been the main source of inbound tourists to the country over the past of few years.

The number of Gulf tourists coming to the Sultanate of Oman in 2019 was 1,249,860, which went down to 274,867 in 2021 due to travel restrictions imposed to limit the spread of Covid-19.

However, by the end of September this year, the Sultanate has received 1,085,828 tourists from the GCC countries.

These statistics are revealed at the Welcome Oman event, organized by the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism, at the Oman Convention and Exhibition Center, in the presence of Eng. Ibrahim bin Saeed al Kharusi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism for Heritage, which will continue until October 21.

The event will see the participation of tour operators from the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar; Kuwait who will seek to have partnerships with their Omani counterparts in the tourism sector.

This event aims to enhance the tourism potential of the Sultanate of Oman in the local and Gulf tourism markets, especially considering the upcoming 2022 World Cup in Doha.

According to the UNWTO, GCC travelers spend 6.5 times more than the global average.