Ministry of Tourism honoured at Arab Social Leaders Summit

Muscat: Oman’s Ministry of Tourism was recognised for its exceptional use of social media during the recently held Arab Social Leaders Summit, organised by the Dubai Press Club.
This is first and largest event in the region, in terms of participation of Arab social media influencers. It is saw attendance by those who have experience and influence as owners and executives of the world’s largest social networking companies.
The award ceremony was inaugurated by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President of the United Arab Emirates, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai.
The third edition of the summit of Arab social networking leaders was launched at the Dubai World Trade Centre.
The ceremony brought together experts, specialists and influential people in social media from across the Arab world. At the opening ceremony, Sheikh Mohammed honoured 31 distinguished Arab pioneers of social networking in 18 categories.
The Ministry of Tourism of Oman was conferred with the Arab Social Networking Pioneers Award in the category of government sector for its excellence and influence in social media, as the best Arab government institution which invested in social networking to improve the level of services and achieve customer satisfaction.
The award was received by Abdullah bin Salem Al Hajri, Assistant Director General for Administrative Affairs in the ministry. This award is a result of the continuous efforts of the Ministry of Tourism in this area, since its establishment in 2004.
The ministry has set up a special section for electronic tourism, and later launched tourism portal www.omantourism.gov.om, which provides its services in five languages: Arabic, English, French, German And Italian. It also entered into social media, particularly through Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, LinkedIn, Google Plus and Instagram, in both Arabic and English languages, to communicate, interact and introduce the services of the ministry, and promote its activities and partnerships.
Those in attendance said there was a major transformation in 2017, which was meant for specialization and keeping pace with the technological advancements and trends in the tourism industry to complement the main official tourism portals. It also launched a promotional website, www.experienceoman.om, which has a massive following in both Arabic and English. On Facebook, it has accounts in six languages.
The Tourism Ministry were given Arab Social Networking Pioneers’ Award in various categories, to add real value to Arab society. It carried a meaningful message to the people.
Awards of excellence were given in the categories of media, sports, youth, government sectors, health, economy, tourism, entrepreneurship, technology, environment, recreation, policy, arts and culture, community service, education and tolerance.