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Friday, 11 February 2011 01:09 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
The number of hotels in the Sultanate increased to more than 16,000 by the end of 2010, up from around 10,000 at the start of the year, according to the organisers of an upcoming major travel event in Dubai.
Arabian Travel Market, a travel and tourism event unlocking business potential within the Middle East, will run from 2 - 5 May at the Dubai International Exhibition and Convention Centre.
The event is a key component in Oman’s ongoing promotion of its high-quality leisure and business tourism credentials, said Mark Walsh, group exhibition director of organisers Reed Travel Exhibitions.
‘Oman’s public and private sector has for some time realised the potential that Arabian Travel Market holds as a key vehicle for further enhancing its profile as a leading regional and international destination. We see it as an important event in helping to develop new ways of catering for an ever more demanding tourist,” Walsh said.
“Regionally, billions of dollars are being invested in tourism infrastructure – Oman Air, Qatar Airways, Etihad and Emirates are all aggressively expanding their fleets and flying to new destinations, and oil prices are hovering around $100 per barrel,” added Walsh.
The travel exhibition has been experiencing strong interest in exhibition space, with Oman’s increasing focus on tourism and cultural heritage seeing continued interest from the Sultanate, he noted.
Oman recently began the construction of its $1 billion Oman Conference and Exhibition Centre in Muscat, its first international-standard conference venue and one of the biggest in the region.
In addition, Oman’s major airports in Muscat and Salalah are undergoing extensive upgrades, with around four new regional airports also planned, while its national carrier, Oman Air, has also been ramping up operations.
Exhibitor bookings for Arabian Travel Market 2011 are already very healthy, with over three months still left in the marketing cycle, a statement said.
Many nations from across the Mena region have already exceeded the amount of space taken last year – with Syria, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Qatar up by 11.8 per cent, 7.5 per cent, 3.8 per cent and 3.6 per cent respectively.
Others have booked space roughly equivalent to last year, despite the global downturn and political uncertainty in Tunisia and Egypt. However, with the region traditionally being a late booking market, the organisers are optimistic of a 5-8 per cent overall increase by the time the four-day show opens.
“According to consultancy firm Grant Thornton, around 373,000 fans visited South Africa for the recent 2010 Fifa World Cup alone. In Qatar’s case, at least twice as many people again will be needed during the planning and preparation stages to develop the stadia, hotels, power and transport infrastructure,” added Walsh.
“The region has come out of the global economic downturn relatively unscathed and with positive economic forecasts combined with shrewd infrastructure development, the Middle East is well placed to capitalise on the healthy growth recorded in 2010,” said Walsh.
