285-room hotel to come up in Muscat

By Vinod Nair — MUSCAT: March 11 - German luxury hotel company Steigenberger Hotel Group will set up a 285-rooms InterCity hotel project in Muscat near the ministerial district in Al Khuwair. This was announced by the group during the ongoing international tourism fair in Berlin (ITB), where the Sultanate’s pavilion is drawing crowds of prospective tourists and operators. The construction will begin in the second quarter of 2017. The InterCity hotel opened in Salalah last year was the first project of the group in Oman with eight floors, 70 rooms along with facilities such as a roof-top swimming pool.

In another boost to the Oman tourism, a team from the German carmaker, Audi, is working on a promotional film for its model AudiRS3, to be shot in Dhofar. On the sidelines of the Sultanate’s participation at the ITB Berlin, Ahmed bin Nasser al Mehrzi, Minister of Tourism visited a number of countries’ pavilions starting with the pavilions of Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Bahrain, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The minister met officials and discussed with them the ways for enhancing cooperation to boost pan-Arab tourism.

Speaking at the conclusion of the ITB Berlin, the Sultanate’s Ambassador to Germany, Lyutha bint Sultan al Mughairiyah said that the Sultanate maintains excellent relations with Germany adding that such expos boost these relations and cooperation between the two countries. “The German people love tourism in Oman and such expos present an opportunity for the Sultanate to promote its tourism industry and showcase its huge tourism potentials”. The Sultanate is witnessing a fast-paced development in the tourism sector due to the implementation of the tourism strategy which covers major projects in the country such as Muscat International Airport, Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre, and the Muttrah water front project.