Thursday 20 / March / 2025
Muscat: The Musandam Carnival will kick off tomorrow, Wednesday, April 26, 2023, at Bussah Beach in the Wilayat of Khasab, with various activities and entertainment programs that target all segments of society. The festival will last for 3 days.
The tourism sector of Musandam Governorate is considered one of the main pillars of economic development. It is witnessing an increasing growth in the number of visitors and cruise ships, as it enjoys natural ingredients, solid infrastructure and development projects. This is in addition to the promotional efforts undertaken by the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism to highlight the experiences and various tourism products provided by the governorate in terms of adventure, recreational, cultural, heritage and other tourist destinations.
The number of historical and archaeological monuments registered in the governorate of Musandam is 46 sites. This number includes towers, mosques, forts, and castles, as well as existing, semi-existing, and extinct monuments. It also includes 3 ancient tombs and 115 historical lanes.
Nawfal bin Mohammad bin Ahmed Al-Kamzari, assistant Director of the Heritage and Tourism Department in the Governorate of Musandam said: "The Governorate of Musandam enjoys a role in the tourism sector, as the number of hotels in the governorate by the end of the last year of 2022, reached 8 hotel establishments with ratings ranging from (1-5) stars. 512 rooms in these hotels have received (76,011) guests, with an occupancy rate of 22.80%, in addition to guests in hotel apartments and green lodges”.
He added: Cruise ships are also received at designated berths in the port, where passengers disembark and board on bridges designated for this purpose.
Al-Kamzari emphasised that the tourism sector at Musandam is witnessing a growth in the number of ships docked in Khasab port. The number of cruise ships from 2022 till the beginning of 2023 reached 58 cruise ships of various sizes. He also named the mainchef-6 ship, considered one the most important ships to visit the Governorate. The number of times it docked at the port numbered at approximately 13 visits.
There is also the MCS Opera ship, which recorded an average of 22 visits in two years. The number of visitors arriving at the port reached (18,999) visitors, and the number of visitors to historical monuments during the year 2022 numbered at 12,049 visitors.
Al-Kamzari clarified that the efforts of the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism in developing the tourism sector at Musandam include the heritage and tourism aspects.
Additionally, Al-Kamzari also clarified that there are many projects being implemented to support tourism in the governorate. This includes the sliding wire project, which is a distinctive addition that aims to activate adventure tourism with an altitude of 220 meters. It extends from the "Fat" area and passes over Khor Qadi and the Mukhi area, all the way to the Atana Khasab Hotel.
