Tourist traffic to Salalah during Khareef surges

Muscat: Number of visitors arriving in Salalah during the first 28 days of the current Khareef (Monsoon) season that began on June 21 surged by a whopping 128.7 per cent, compared with figures for the same period last year, according to data released by the National
Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).
The total number of visitors rose to 127,235, as of July 18, from 55,640 visitors during the comparable period in 2015.
NCSI statistics also showed that as many as 27,158 visitors reached Salalah by air, as against 100,077, who arrived by land.
Giving the break-up of the number of visitors by air, the report said the majority of them, totalling 17,653 arrived on domestic flights, while international carriers brought in 9,505 visitors.
Significantly, during the same period, visitors from the Sultanate registered a significant growth of 218.3 per cent to 71,439 visitors, compared with 22,444 inland visitors in 2015.
Gulf Cooperation Council
Khareef visitors from the Gulf Cooperation Council (including Oman) swelled in numbers by 200 per cent to touch 92,757 visitors, as against 30,917 visitors last year.
Among the GCC visitors, Bahrainis recorded the greatest surge at 660.5 per cent, with their numbers touching 1,156.
United Arab Emirates’ visitors jumped 154.6 per cent to 13,468, while visitors from Saudi Arabia increased to 4,608, reflecting a growth of 111.3 per cent.
Visitors from Kuwait and Qatar surged 175.7 per cent and 120.3 per cent respectively, with their respective numbers standing at 1,053 and 1,033.
There has been an 81 per cent rise in the number of visitors from other Arab countries at 5,596 as against 3,091 visitors recorded last year during the same period.