Giving tourists what they want

We must attend conferences and at times on topics that may be of our area of interest.

Being a journalist allows one to learn something new in different fields each day. The latest one was the Oman Tourism Conference in association with the Tourism and Foreign Investment Committees of the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry as well as the Indo-Gulf Middle East Chamber of Commerce.

It was interesting to look at tourism from various angles because while countries are exploring opportunities in the tourism sector, some are suffering from unsustainable tourism and over-tourism and looking for solutions to come out of it.

According to one of the speakers at the conference, the focus is on the right strategies and getting the right travelers to the respective countries. According to James Chappell, Global Director of Horwath HTL, tourism and leisure are two areas that come into the list of trends.

It was interesting to look at leisure with a fresh perspective.

And under leisure comes theme parks, concerts, sports events, and attractions. Tourism infrastructure does not just mean infrastructure but it is also important to see what people would look for. They need activities and most importantly a tourist today looks at experiences to take back home. Hospitality has always been in focus but should it be just luxury oriented?

More and more people want to travel and experience new environments and cultures. For sure they do not want something that they can experience in their own country. This is where the heritage comes into play. Recently read this line somewhere that said, ‘Preserve culture and culture will preserve you.’

According to James sporting activities, are expected to be guaranteed successful projects, but require investment and the fact is not all sports are applicable.

Meanwhile, another trend that is going to revolutionise the hospitality industry is Artificial Intelligence, and so the buzzword is AI. On the other hand, the hospitality industry has not moved too close to technology.

What was good to know was people are paying more attention to experience than possessions. But then there are other industries based on tourism such as small-scale and cottage industries.

Overall, the experts pointed out that it would be best to provide people what they want and with facilities available for all pocket sizes.

Another aspect was the nautical tourism and that is the marine tourism. And this is very much part of Oman’s heritage. Throughout out the globe, it has been noted that this generation has not been able to carry history forward. And the experts suggested it is essential to preserve history and build upon the heritage and share it with others.