How was the tourism season last year, especially for your hotel?

Last year 2007 tourism season was as expected  better compared to previous years, especially if you speak about Sohar Beach Hotel and present year 2008 since it has being now managed by the international hotel chain Swiss-Belhotel International there is an optimistic growth and what we forecast for 2009 will also be very positive for us.    

What are the new initiatives taken to boost occupancy figures? Anything new like new restaurants or so?

Yes with entry of Swiss-Belhotel International Chain into the managing team a series of decisive steps have been taken to build on our strong brand presence in the market as well as enhance our relationship with our Clients.

Swiss-Belhotel International is an international hotel management company, based in Hong Kong, managing hotels, resort and serviced residences, throughout the Asia Pacific and the Middle East region. Sohar Beach by Swiss-Belhotel with its new identity has taken a step ahead to increase the quality of restaurant and room service which was lacking over the last many years, introduction to the newly designed Ayna The musical entertainment night club along with the beatification and renovation of the hotel property.

With our new extension plan and sea view SPA, completing by the April 2009 will give a revolutionary change to this unique hotel & beach resort enabling to encourage more tourists from all over the world for enjoying their stay in Sohar Beach by Swiss-Belhotel. 

Where do your guests mostly come from?

Sohar Beach by Swiss-Belhotel is the only hotel & beach resort with having a direct access to beach located in the entire north Bathina region and it has Corporate guest coming from all over the world mostly European, We also have tourist groups coming from Germany, France and Italy.

What are the major MICE activities planned for 2008 and do have a strategy in place to develop this market segment?

Sohar Beach by Swiss-Belhotel is wonderfully located on beach side with wide and extensive pool & pool side garden giving an opportunity to serve a lot of MICE activities. On the beginning of 2008 we had a all branded car launching’s in our pool side apart from that we have done seminars for Siemens company, Oman Telecommunication, Exhibition held with Habib Carpets. Yes, we do have a wider prospective to develop this portion of market segment as with our new extension coming up we will have board room having facility of attending 250 to 300 guest at a time.

What is your forecast for Oman Tourism for the future?

During last couple of years Oman has became a high demand in terms of Tourism development. Oman has incredible natural beauty, fascinating culture and warm welcoming people. One can experience miles of un spoilt  sandy beaches, dive and fish in warm water of Indian ocean along with beautiful desert for camping, face high mountain with uncover secret caves and underwater lakes.    

A brief announcement earlier this year by concierge.com, a travel website of Condé Nast Travelers, one of the worlds most prestigious and influential travel publications, honored the Sultanate with the highest accolade that every aspiring holiday destination yearns for – a place on its coveted Top 10 listing of the world’s best tourist destinations for 2008. Not surprisingly, the World Travel and Tourism Council, WTTC, has ranked Oman’s tourism economy among the fastest growing in the world. The Council’s 2008 Travel & Tourism Economic report on Oman expects the travel and tourism industry to grow from RO 2.496.5 billion in 2008 to RO 3.363 billion by 2018.

Are you expecting any downslide compared to last year due to the Global Financial crisis?

We can not say any thing right now that due to Global Financial crisis will there be a major impact on Oman tourism, as for now year 2008 is coming up with promising growth from last year and forecast says 2009 will also be not bad.

Some kind of down grade might be seen in corporate individual travelers particularly from US and European sectors; other wise we hope tourism will not affect much.