Omani student, app creator opens new tourism office in Azerbaijan

Energy Wednesday 12/September/2018 20:52 PM
By: Times News Service
Omani student, app creator opens new tourism office in Azerbaijan

Muscat: For a 20-year-old, Musa Al Alawi is busy person.
A student of Technical College in Oman, he is not only the creator of a travel application called Travel365, but also the owner of a business that provides tourism-related services to 10 different countries.
But Alawi is not done yet. He has now opened a tourism office in Azerbaijan, one of the countries his firm offers services too.
“It was during the summer. I chose Azerbaijan not just because of how varied its services to tourists are, but also because of how popular the country is among GCC nationals, and specifically, Omanis,” he said.
Speaking about his app, Travel365, he said, “I designed it as a new way to market and promote my projects, as most people currently want an easy, accessible way to book an entire trip, especially at the click of a button. I try to streamline the process as much as possible.”
The student began his journey early, when he was only 17. “If I had to sum up my first year, I’d say my love for travel inspired me to get creative,” he said.
“I started working in the tourism industry on my own when I was 17 years old. I’ve always been passionate about travel, and found a way to work with a tourism company in Kerala. Once I finished high school and got accepted into college, I decided to keep going with both work and studies, so I’m currently a second-year college student with three years of work experience and a business.”
Al Alawi believes in tourism in Oman. “Oman is beautiful,” he said. “It can boast of a variety of climates, and our costs are similar to those in Switzerland. If some care is given to it, the country can become rich off tourism.”
“It’s all about simple ideas,” he added. “A small landmark can attract people, boosting Oman’s economy, as I learned from my travel experiences. We pay large amounts of money to visit simple but beautiful places when they are done well. Tourism is not about million-dollar structures. It’s about elegant, attractive ideas.”
Al Alawi added, “Companies try to recruit me every now and then because of my experience, especially from outside Oman, but I don’t want any other country to use my work or to take pride in it, if I accomplish anything special down the line.”
Though not global yet, Travel365 provides services in 10 countries. “These include India, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Malaysia, Indonesia, Turkey, Vietnam, and Iran. Of these, Azerbaijan is definitely the most popular right now among my 2,000 users. I suppose my own favourites are Azerbaijan, India, and Turkey.”
Al Alawi hopes to expand his business. “We’re looking to include six more countries in the area, if all goes well. Of course, each of these countries has an office affiliated with Travel 365.”
Al Alawi must often travel in order to keep the business running smoothly.
“I’d say the biggest challenge is balancing my degree at the Technical College and my business. My work is rather time-consuming, but I’m certain that this is a problem that I can resolve, god willing.”