Turkey becoming a hotspot for tourists from Oman

Muscat: Omanis are flocking to Trabzon to spend their holidays among the beautiful mountains and fields.
Rize, which is one hour away from Trabzon by car, is also getting a large share of visitors, and insiders said Omanis are among the most common tourists in
the area.
Fatih Kiziltan, General Manager of Doga Resort Hotel and partner at a local hotel owner’s association in the city, told Times of Oman about the influx of tourists: “There are a lot of Omanis coming during the tourist season, and 35 per cent of the guests at our hotel are Omani. I believe that the highest two tourist populations here in these hotels are from Kuwait and Oman.”
“This wasn’t the case one or two years ago. This we year had a lot of tourists. When we looked at how they learned about the area and this hotel, it was because of Instagram,” he added. “I believe this is going to increase with time. There is a new airport being built in Rize and next year, we even have Omanis visiting during the off season.”
Mohammed Al Abri, who was in Turkey for a vacation, told Times of Oman, “I had a wonderful time here, and this is a place that many Omanis are visiting right now.”
Omanis are also attracted to delicious Turkish cuisine, indeed, most GCC tourists in Turkey are attracted to the Turkish style of grilling.
Ali Osma, the owner of Ada Restaurant at the famous Uzongol lake, told Times of Oman, “We try our best to appeal to the tastes of our guests, most of whom are from GCC countries, including Omanis, who come to this tourist hub for the beauty and fall in love with the food here.”
“They love to have grills and rice. In fact, some of them ask for the Arab style of rice that they are used to, but when they try ours they love it as well,” he added.
Rize makes most of its own produce.
The owner of Mavi Koese, a local ice-cream manufacturer, told Times of Oman, “We are the only ones in this area who make green tea ice cream and we do it using milk from this hill next to us. It’s all local because we want to treat people here to a local, organic taste.”
In Northeast Turkey, tourists can be treated to a wonderful view of the Black Sea, castles such as the Ciha Castle in the Pazar district, and to experience local cuisine such as Mihlama, a dish of melted cheese and cornmeal.
The rise in demand was high enough for SalamAir to recently launch four direct weekly flights to Trabzon, in north east Turkey, said SalamAir CEO Captain Ahmed Mohammed recently.
Seats to the area are disappearing quickly as Omanis take the opportunity to visit Trabzon and Rize.
Mohammed, an Omani Tourist, told Times of Oman, “We have lots of family members who have come here and struck up a friendship with a Turkish man who helps us here. It’s my first time going, but my brother, cousins, and uncles have visited.”
“It was really hard to find a seat this time,” added Mohammed. “My brother and cousin had been trying to find a spot for me on various airlines and dates, then we finally got seats with Salam Air,” he added