Omanis make up more than half of Salalah visitors in 2017

Muscat: Omanis continue to support the Khareef (monsoon) season in Salalah, making up for more than half of the visitors so far, according to data by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).
The latest data reveals more than 102,000 people visited Salalah during the Khareef season this year, up until Wednesday morning, of which “Omanis make up 54.6 per cent of the total amount visitors,” the report stated.
The estimated number of visitors recorded was 102,234, with 55,835 of them being Omanis.
For the whole of last year’s Khareef season, there were also more Omanis that had visited than any other nationality.
According to the 2016 survey report, Omanis made up 74 per cent of the total number of visitors at 447,713.
Until the end of August 28, 2016, the number of visitors stood at 604,990, reflecting a rise by 21.7 per cent, compared with the same period in 2015, according to data from a survey conducted by NCSI for Khareef visitors in 2016.
This year, visitors from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) represented the highest non-Omani Gulf Cooperation Council figure at 10,621, while Saudis came in at third place with 6,317 visitors.
NCSI reported 18,904 visitors of Asian nationalities, 1,118 people from European nationalities, and 5,404 from “other Arab” nationalities.
Among the visitors were 1,025 Qataris, 1,278 Kuwaitis and 1,152 Bahrainis, who also visited Salalah, while 580 individuals were clubbed under the “other” category.