The Dhofar region in Oman has started receiving tourists for the khareef season, with a total of 52,017 visitors having arrived between June 21 and July 3, an increase of 35.4 per cent when compared to the same period last year.

Dhofar and Salalah remain the highly preferred destinations during this period because of the cool refreshing weather. One of the highlights of the period is its annual Khareef Festival, which features traditional performances, stalls selling local handicrafts and local Omani culinary offerings.

The Oman Ministry of Tourism is taking all the necessary actions to better cater to tourists visiting the sultanate, closely coordinating with all government entities/private sectors to ensure that visitors will have a truly memorable experience from the festival.

The Ministry has launched massive campaigns to promote awareness about one of the most amazing seasons taking place in the Dhofar Governorate while summer stretches across the region.

Salem Al Ma’amari, director general of Promotions, Ministry of Tourism, noted the various partnerships signed for online marketing campaigns, including the two-month marketing promotion with Musafir.com, UAE's first premium-experience travel website, and the Tejwal website in Saudi Arabia.

Furthermore, the ministry recently launched a three-month promotion campaign with HolidayME, a leading travel website in the Middle East for competitive packages. At the international level, the Ministry also signed a cooperation deal with Holiday Factory, one of the largest tourism sites based in Germany with 500,000 social media followers and about 300,000 active subscribers.                                                      

The Oman Ministry of Tourism also participated in key international travel fairs and held direct and indirect meetings with tourism operators throughout the GCC to promote Khareef events and activities as well as raise awareness about the environmental diversity in the sultanate and the conservation efforts being adopted by various government entities. - TradeArabia News Service