Muscat: With the cruise ship movement from Europe facing disruptions in the Red Sea, the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism (MHT) on Tuesday said the focus will be shifting to Asia.
Abdullah al Saadi, head of cruise and charter flights, was speaking to the Observer while welcoming the arrival of the first ship of the season, Resorts World Cruise, with 700 tourists on board.
The ship will be calling at the Port Sultan Qaboos every Tuesday (23 times) until April with a different set of tourists from the region with its base station in Dubai.
Al Saadi said, "The cruise season usually starts in October, but it has been delayed a bit due to the situation in the Red Sea for vessel movement. Last year, we received over 200 cruise ships but we cannot specify the number for this season due to the current political Conflicts in the Middle East. But still, we are expecting a good number of ships to visit the three ports of Sultanate this season."
He added, "Generally, the source market for cruise travelers has been Europe, but we are targeting Asia, and the arrival of this ship is the first step in this direction. It may be noted that Asian markets are not affected by the disturbances on the Red Sea."
The Port Sultan Qaboos will be also receiving the ship Vasco da Gama on Wednesday
Al Saadi said, "We have been trying to bring more cruise liners by participating in various events, including the recently held Sea Trade exhibition in Miami."
The Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology (MTCIT), and Asyad Group have signed an agreement to manage, operate, and develop the Port Sultan Qaboos (PSQ) in Muscat, which includes the rehabilitation of the port infrastructure, updating equipment and operating systems (phase 2), and development of an additional dock to receive large cruise ships (phase 3).
Visit visa for passengers and crew of tourist ships for ten days:
It shall be granted by the competent authority upon the request of the agent of the tourist ship and under his responsibility to passengers and crew of tourist ships wishing to visit the Sultanate of Oman for tourism and authorize its holder to enter the Sultanate of Oman and reside therein for a period not exceeding ten days, provided that entry is completed within 30 days from the date of issuance of the visa. The ten-day visa will be free of cost.
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