Saturday 04 / May / 2024
Khasab: ‘Musandam Sea Adventure’ tourism project has become a success story for the Omani youth who proved their competence and excellence by getting international accolades.
The project scored several international awards and it was classified among the best five companies in the world in 2016. It also won the silver prize in 2017 among the top 5 companies in the Middle East.
In a statement to Oman News Agency (ONA), Abdul Fattah Ahmed Al-Shehhi said that this story of success began as a tourism office in 2001, operating only a single vessel. That office came to be the second tourism-specialised office in the Governorate of Musandam.
Al-Shehhi pointed out that in 2002, he received an invitation from a German company, which previously visited him in the governorate to participate in an exhibition specialised in promoting tourism.
In the exhibition, he highlighted tourism and related products offered by his office to tourists wishing to visit islands, bays and creeks in the Governorate of Musandam.
He added that in 2006, he utilised German expertise in tourism to help him attract tourists and to promote for his project. Al-Shehhi also hired Omanis, but only 8 of them remained while the others found other jobs in the public and private sectors.
He further said that the project saw a great turnout of tourists from inside and outside the Sultanate. He had to transport 200 people a day, which forced him to multiply the number of operating vessels.
In 2012, Abdul Fattah designed a yacht specifically for the project, and it was launched in December 2014, eventually attracting more tourists.
As for prices, they differ based on the vessel. The ship costs Omani people OMR15 while for people from other nationalities it costs OMR20. On the other hand, the yacht prices depend on the number of people and they range between OMR45 to OMR55.
The monthly revenues during the winter season hit OMR70,000 and in the summer to OMR30,000, before the COVID-19 pandemic. Nowadays, revenues do not exceed OMR5,000 as a result of the current circumstances and the suspension of tourism activities, Al-Shehhi added.
