Oman's Ministry of Tourism has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Oman LNG and the Spanish Cultural Center today to train 30 jobseekers to learn the basics of spoken Spanish and Italian.

This will aim to create opportunities for these job seekers to be effective tour guides and add value to the tourism sector in the country.

Maitha Saif Al Mahrouqi, undersecretary of the Ministry of Tourism, signed the MOU with Rashid Abdullah Al Nasri, acting CEO of Oman LNG, and Pedro Hernandez, director of the Spanish Cultural Center.

Speaking about the collaboration, Al Mahrouqi said, “The Ministry highly values the contributions of the private sector organizations like Oman LNG and the Spanish Cultural Center in supporting tourism in Oman. The training that they will provide to the 30 individuals will strengthen our offerings to tourists coming into the Sultanate. We hope that this will encourage other private organisations to contribute to the tourism sector, which is one of the fastest growing sectors in local employment.”

She also added that this initiative is in line with the strategic goal of the Ministry as it fosters a deeper cooperation between the private and public sectors, as well as developing the potential of the employees within the tourism sector. This initiative will also aim to attract more professionals to the tourism sector.

Another significant benefit of this initiative is that it gives tourists a significantly-enhanced experience as these tour guides will be able to provide the tourism experience to tourists in their own language.

Oman LNG’s acting CEO Rashid Al Nasri said: “Oman LNG always looks forward to partnering and support the government. This particular initiative will give job seekers a unique opportunity to develop and flourish in a fast growing sector.” He also added that Oman LNG’s social responsibility goals align perfectly with the Ministry’s initiative and that the company hopes to continue adding value to the country.

Pedro Hernandez, director of the Spanish Cultural Center, said: “We are happy to collaborate with the Ministry to enhance the capabilities of tour guides in the Sultanate. The Spanish and Italian languages are very important in the current tourism scenario of the Sultanate, and we are certain that our capable tour guides will add even more value when they learn these languages.” - TradeArabia News Service