LONDON: Following the first day of the World Travel Market London taking place from November 6 – 8, 2023 in London, the Sultanate of Oman’s B2B travel booking gateway Visit Oman announced the signing of a new partnership agreement with global connectivity platform Prioticket.
The signing ceremony was attended by Azzan al Busaidi, Oman's Under-Secretary for Tourism at the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism and Chairman of Oman Tourism Development Company (OMRAN Group); Dr Hashil al Mahrouqi, OMRAN Group CEO; and Gert-Jan Ruiter, Prioticket Founder & CEO.
Through the strategic partnership, Visit Oman gets set to further revolutionize the Sultanate’s tourism sector by leveraging Prioticket’s reputation as a leading connectivity platform. This innovative platform will empower all B2B stakeholders, including online travel agents, hotels, tour operators, and destination management companies, to explore Oman's full range of offerings. It allows stakeholders to craft bespoke and customizable visitor experiences tailored to the needs of today's global travellers. It will facilitate mobile transactions, timely bookings, and a higher level of digital maturity, ensuring seamless interactions between industry resellers.
The partnership serves as a milestone event in Visit Oman’s journey, and a never-seen-before “first” for Oman.
Visit Oman provides international travel trade partners with access to the ultimate tourism marketplace that consolidates an extensive range of Oman suppliers. The partnership therefore paves the way for an unprecedented scale and volume of tourism supply distribution, while providing multiple benefits for the country’s tourism-aligned SMEs.
SMEs and suppliers in Oman will benefit from a live-booking service together with instant access to a larger network of resellers and online aggregators, thus amplifying their global market reach. They can also leverage a white-label booking platform that will make it easier to sell and distribute products and services, without the need for significant investment in proprietary software.
Azzan al Busaidi remarked on the significance of the agreement: "We are witnessing a pivotal moment for Oman’s tourism industry with the inception of this agreement. It aligns perfectly with the country's vision of cultivating a robust SME economy enriched by the cultural exchange that tourism brings. The increased influx of tourists not only catalyses the demand for Omani goods, services, and experiences but also fosters employment opportunities within the tourism and ancillary sectors, and contributes to our In Country Value mandate. Moreover, it is a strategic step in amplifying Oman's tourism footprint and enhancing our visibility in critical markets." Elaborating on the operational benefits of the collaboration, Dr Hashil al Mahrouqi, CEO of Oman Tourism Development Company (OMRAN Group), conveyed: "Visit Oman is dedicated to simplifying the discovery and booking of authentic Omani experiences for global travellers and travel intermediaries. This alliance with Prioticket is more than a partnership; it is a leap towards embedding technological innovation at the core of our tourism industry. It propels us into the digital future, ensuring that the rich tapestry of Omani experiences is just a click away for all visitors." Gert-Jan Ruiter, Prioticket Founder & CEO, stated: “As a destination, the Sultanate of Oman offers a truly diverse and exciting portfolio of experiences for travelers from all over the world. Our goal is to remove many of the challenges that suppliers in growing tourism markets traditionally face – such as global distribution, complex technology, and access to a centralized booking platform – so that they can focus their efforts purely on growth and expansion. This partnership with Visit Oman comes at a time when Prioticket is experiencing significant growth and moving into smart tourism and connected destination approaches.” In terms of In-Country Value (ICV) generation, the partnership reflects a new era of technological advancement for Oman's tourism sector: It will simplify business processes, and promote and aid a culture of digital innovation and data-driven insights, ensuring that Oman remains at the forefront of modern tourism trends as it works towards achieving its national tourism objectives laid out in the government’s Oman Vision 2040 plan for sustainable progress and development.
Founded in 2015, Prioticket has rapidly become a one-stop solution for the varied ticketing needs of the industry, from integrations to data and reporting. In its quest to help travel businesses flourish online and offline, Prioticket's co-founders have pioneered a new ticketing approach to integrate every sales channel fully. This comprehensive strategy eliminates outdated infrastructure and incompatible technologies, allowing both local and global operators and resellers to thrive.
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