Charters lined up for 2019-20 Salalah season

Salalah: The charter operators have lined up services on Salalah sector for 2019-20 season. The first flight of the season, according to the charter calendar, is scheduled to arrive from the Czech Republic on October 6 with 189 tourists, as 60 weekly charters (to and from) are scheduled to operate on Prague – Salalah – Prague from October 6 to April 4, 2020. Similarly, from Slovakia, the operation is scheduled from October 12 to April 25, 2020. A group of 189 passengers would come from Bratislava to Salalah every Sunday and after a week-long stay they would go back on Sunday again. Italians may be the largest chunk among the charter travellers to Salalah, as about 340 passengers per week are expected from Milan. The Italian operation would start from October 27 till April 26, 2020. Apart from charter tourists, there are tourists from Germany and France, who are expected by regular flights of Oman Air, Qatar Airways, and Fly Dubai. Most of the tourists from Germany have lined up their stay in Salalah from September 15 to May 2, 2020, while the French are expected from October 12 to May 2, 2020. For this, major international tour operators have opened their camp offices in Salalah for smooth ground handling and the best possible sight-seeing facilities for their customers. The volume of charter tourists is likely to cross 40,000 this year. The hoteliers are busy doing necessary arrangements taking advantage of the relatively dull period post-Khareef season. Among the international operators are FTI from Germany; Alpitour from Italy; Hydrotour from Slovakia; Fischer from Czech Republic; and Kappa from France. They are in touch with Omani tour guides and drivers for the sake of authenticity and ensuring in-country-value out of charter operations in the country. A source in the Ministry of Tourism said room night capacity of Salalah was improving with the addition of new star hotels, which have capacity to accommodate more than 4,000 visitors at 35 hotels. “The capacity is likely to improve in coming months as some new hotels are undergoing finishing work.”