TravTalk India Online Magazine
New Delhi: The tourism sector in the Governorate of Musandam is one of the main pillars of economic development in the governorate. Of late, the region is witnessing a growth in travellers and those visiting luxury cruise ships. Located to the north of the UAE and bordered to the west by the Arabian Gulf and to the east by the Sea of Oman, this location has made it a major tourist destination.
The geographical location of the Governorate of Musandam is one of the most important features that the governorate enjoys in terms of its location on the Musandam Peninsula. It overlooks the Strait of Hormuz, in addition to its fame over the ages with many titles and names of tourist significance, such as ‘The Heads of the Mountains’ or ‘The Land of the Mountains’.
The number of historical and archaeological monuments in the Governorate of Musandam include 46 sites such as towers, mosques, forts, and castles. It also includes three ancient tombs and 115 historical lanes.
Nawfal bin Mohammad bin Ahmed Al-Kamzari, Assistant Director, Heritage and Tourism Department, Governorate of Musandam said, “The governorate till last year-end received 76,011 guests 512 hotel rooms eight hotels. He stressed the Musandam tourism sector was witnessing an increasing growth in the number of ships that docked in Khasab port, as the number of cruise ships in 2022 till the beginning of 2023 reached 58 cruise ships of various shapes and sizes visited the Governorate, while as many as 13 docked at the port.
There is also MCS OPERA ship, which recorded an average of 22 visits in two years, while the number of visitors arriving at the port reached 18,999 visitors. Travellers visiting historical monuments during 2022 reached 12,049.
The Ministry of Heritage and Tourism is striving to develop private museums, including the Madha Museum in the Wilayat of Madha and the Square of Sheikh Muhammad bin Saleh in the Wilayat of Dibba and the establishing of a visitor center for the archaeological site of Dibba.
The setting of this center will start soon this year after carrying out archaeological excavations at the site that lasted for 10 years in cooperation with foreign missions. The employees of the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism where over 7,000 artefacts were found on site will be displayed in the museum.
During the Ministry’s meetings for development of SMEs operating in the tourism sector at Musandam, the meetings came out with recommendations, including the importance of giving alternate opportunities to SMEs to promote their heritage tourism product within the pavilions of the Sultanate of Oman at the exhibitions, supervised by the Ministry.
On the tourism aspect, the Ministry of Heritage and Museum coordinated with the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry to provide kiosks to display handicraft products upon arrival of passing cruise ships.
He pointed out that the Ministry continues to promote tourism components in Musandam region and has sought to strengthen promotional material such as brochures, maps and instructions for tourists and thereby contribute to achieving the goals of Oman Vision 2040 by upgrade Oman as a global tourist destination.
Meanwhile, the ‘Musandam Tourism Carnival’ activities kick-started on 26 April 2023 at Bussah Beach in the Wilayat of Khasab. The three-day carnival has many activities and entertainment programs targeted to all age groups.
The governorate of Musandam has hosted the Xterra Musandam 2023 Championship, an event that combines tourism promotion and adventure sports. It is one of the largest sports brands in mountain triathlon races and consolidates the governorate’s position on the global map.
Al-Kamzari clarified the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism’s efforts in developing the tourism sector at Musandam, include the heritage and tourism aspect. He said there are many projects implemented to support the tourism in the governorate. These include the sliding wire project, a tourism product that will activate adventure tourism from an altitude of 220 meters, where it passes over Kher Wadi and the Mukhi area, all the way to the Atana Khasab Hotel. Among the other projects are rehabilitation and inventory of heritage monuments and the offering of castles and forts for investment.
Among these campaigns is Musandam Al-Jamal, launched by the tourism ministry in cooperation with tourism sector partners through social media platforms in early 2021. In addition to the exclusive promotional packages provided by Omran Group and Oman Air, which operate about six weekly flights between Muscat International Airport and Khasab, in addition marine voyages to Musandam, operated by the National Ferries Company.
Solid infrastructure and development project, in addition to the promotional efforts undertaken by the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism to highlight the experiences and various tourism products that provided by the governorate in terms of tourism adventure, recreational, cultural, heritage and other tourism destinations.
The ministry also worked on many activists and bloggers of social media to visit the governorate and promote its tourism potential.
