Muscat – Musandam Governorate has announced the opening of the Ghafa International Film Festival for Environment and Climate on Monday in the picturesque peninsula overlooking the Strait of Hormuz.

An official in Musandam said that the festival is part of the second edition of ‘Winter in Musandam’, which will continue till April. He explained that the four-day festival will include diverse activities and enjoyable experiences such as creative writing workshop, stargazing sessions, short films competition, while a number of media figures, actors and environmental experts will grace the occasion.

The most prominent participants in the symposium at the festival will include Omani actors such as Saleh Zaal, Fakhriya Khamis, Talib al Balushi and Kuwaiti actor Dawood Hussain.

“The Winter in Musandam includes various events as well as tourist, cultural, artistic, and sports programmes. It also features local, regional, and international competitions. The Ghafa International Film Festival aims to support Omani films, promote tourist attractions in Musandam, and attract the largest number of tourists,” said the official.

Maryam al Shehi, Head of the Tourism Promotion Department at the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism in Musandam, informed that the Khasab Port received many cruise ships with tourists from around the world coming to learn about the most prominent cultural monuments, watch dolphins and take sea or land trips in coordination with tourist offices.

The peak tourism in Musandam begins in November, she said, noting that the number of tourists until December 2023, via cruise ships, reached 76,156, and the number of ships during this period was 52.

For the overall growth of economic activities, Maryam informed that the port has allocated marketing outlets for ‘productive families’ to display and sell their products to tourists arriving via cruise ships, indicating that there are many events, activities and festivals held in the governorate.

‘Productive families’ are those, which are involved in the production of various crafts and other local items that defines a country’s cottage industry.