Mobile food carts woo tourists in Salalah

Muscat, august 13 - Mobile tourism carts have become a rage in Salalah these days. They are available for tourists in different parts of Salalah, including Itin, Arzat spring, Husun Souq and Musafer Oasis. A total of seven carts are offering different kinds of services, including foodstuff, handicrafts, juices and fruits, besides conducting tours. The project, a partnership between government and private sectors, was started by Ministry of Tourism and funded by Salalah Methanol in cooperation with Public Authority for SMEs (Riyada), Dhofar Municipality, Public Authority for Crafts Industry in Dhofar (PACI), Rafd Fund and Salalah Port. Khalifa bin Said al Abri, CEDO of Riyada, said the project is successful because of the efforts made by all the parties concerned for implementing it in quick time. “The basic idea of mobile food carts is to allow Omani youth to display their products in an attractive manner.” He said efforts are needed to bring such carts to Muscat and other governorates. SMEs who have benefited from the project appreciated the experience. Riyada has been following and coordinating implementation of mobile food carts project, and nominated the participating entrepreneurs according to certain terms and conditions. It also conducted two training courses for cart operators aimed at enhancing their experience in running them. Zainab al Nassriya