KHASAB: As many as 23,535 people visited the castles, forts and the historical monuments of Musandam Governorate by June this year, the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism (MoHT) said on Tuesday.
Maryam bint Ahmed al Shihhiyah, Head of the Heritage Crafts Department at the Directorate of Heritage and Tourism in Musandam Governorate, said that the Khasab Castle and Al Kamazra Castle, Bukha Fort and Dibba Fort receive the most number of visitors around the year.
She noted that the Khasab Castle, Al Kamazra Castle, Bukha Fort and Dibba Fort have been rolled out for investment in an effort to provide an opportunity for institutions and individuals to operate castles and forts in optimal and innovative ways while providing job opportunities. This outsourcing strategy, she said, has been prioritised by the Tenth Five-Year Development Plan to develop heritage tourism and to create sustainable investment in tourism, culture and arts thereby contributing to the growth of the national economy by offering a number of heritage and tourist sites such as castles, forts, museums and old neighbourhoods for sustainable tourism investment by the private sector or via public-private partnership.
Bassam bin Mohammed al Kamzari, Head of the Antiquities and Museums Department at the Directorate of Heritage and Tourism in Musandam Governorate, said that work is underway to develop archaeological sites of exceptional value and transform them into fully-fledged tourist destinations. Construction of the Dibba Archaeological Visitors Centre commenced at the beginning of this year with funding from OQ and the Office of the Governor of Musandam. The site which dates back to the first millennium BC was discovered in 2012 and is considered as one of the most important archaeological sites in the Sultanate of Oman. — ONA
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