General Travel News
Tourism to contribute over 3pc in Oman
April 19- The tourism sector's share in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will be more than three per cent during the Eighth Five Year Development Plan (2011-2015), said Muhammad al Tobi, Under-Secretary, Ministry of Tourism. The sector, he said, will hopefully go well beyond the objectives set by the Oman's Vision-2020, of increasing its relative share to three per cent of the GDP by 2020.
The 25-year Oman's Economic Vision (1995-2020), the master plan for the development of non-oil sectors, revolves around five areas of focus for tourism: establishing Oman as a regional travel and tourism hub; increasing tourism industry's contribution to GDP to three per cent; increasing the private sector's participation; attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) and increasing Omanisation.
"The question of tourism sector's relative share in the GDP needs clarification. Its share, which stands at around one per cent per cent at present, includes only hotels and restaurants. Meanwhile, Port Sultan Qaboos played host to a trio of luxury cruise liners (Costa Luminosa, Brilliance of the Seas and The World of the United States), affording passersby a spectacle more reminiscent of European ports,” he added.
More General Travel News
Latest Travel News
Featured Sights To See
Mausoleum of Saladin
Damascus, Syria
Saladin was a famous Sultan, most renowned for his role as leader of the Muslims during the bloody Crusades. He died in 1193 and his mausoleum is a low rise white building with a red dome. Contained within it is a walnut wood cenotaph containing Saladin’s body carved with intricate motifs representative of the Ayubbid Era. Also contained within, is a marble tomb gifted by Kaiser Wilhelm II o...
Tuol Sleng- Museum of Genocide
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Toul Sleng Genocide Museum reflects the dreadful history of Cambodia that every tourist needs to know. It was a school that got turned into a prison. 14000 people were the victims of sheer torture in that prison and the same people were ruthlessly killed in the Killing field later on. This museum features art collection, skull pieces and horrifying pictures and paintings from those times in 1975! ...
KLCC Aquaria
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Located beneath the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center, this aquarium features aquatic life and animals from Malaysia and around the world. Exhibits include depictions of the Malaysian jungle, from the highlands down to the ocean. There is also a plentiful collection of reptiles, insects, amphibians, and small mammals (otters, large rodents, etc.). More than 20,000 animals from 250 d...
Parque Zoológico de Caricuao
Caracas, Venezuela
Address: located further along the southwest highway, onwards from El Pinar Zoo The main zoo of Caracas currently covers 88 acres of land, more than ten times that of El Pinar, reclaimed from a very large sprawling estate, a 1550 acre coffee plantation. Further expansion of the zoo is under way. The zoo contains a much richer biodiversity on display than El Pinar. Hundreds of species of ani...