Muscat – The Ministry of Heritage and Tourism (MHT) is working on a new marketing strategy for brand Oman that will be used for the next three years to promote the sultanate abroad as a promising tourist destination.

The ministry is also focusing on attracting premium and luxury travellers from the GCC, for which it is seeking an international company to act as Oman’s representative tourist office in the region.

Issuing a tender to appoint a market based representative in the GCC, MHT stated that it has been actively working with international representative firms to build brand awareness in key source markets, educate trade and businesses as well as support them in their activities to promote Oman.

‘Oman offers travellers different holiday options, some of the most common are: Cultural discovery, adventure, relax at sun and sea resorts, multi-destination discovery itineraries, combining travel to Oman with different countries, and special occasions such as weddings and honeymoon vacations,’ it stated.

Although these options are available for various segments of tourists, MHT stated, Oman wants to focus primarily on attracting premium and luxury travellers, as it has the products to suit these target customers. ‘This is why MHT has engaged in a market research process that will provide the necessary insight to devise a new marketing strategy for brand Oman for the coming three years.’

The ministry added that in the GCC, Oman has evinced encouraging results at meetings and events and the sultanate has promising opportunities as a filming location.

It added that the strategy and plan will be prepared in the coming months and will set the guidelines, especially in terms of communication and business development.

‘It is in this context that MHT requires a strong representative firm to advise and support in the implementation of Oman’s marketing strategy for the GCC,’ it said.

The deadline for submitting bids is October 31.

The ministry recently organised promotional campaigns in the United Kingdom, Germany and India to promote Oman as a vibrant tourist destination.

The number of visitors to Oman jumped an astounding 602 per cent with 794,000 arrivals registered till May 2022. In the first five months of 2021, there were 113,000 visitors.