FEATURE OMAN
OMAN Top Selling Tips...
• Stress Oman’s beautiful beaches and elegant resort hotels
• Suggest dolphin-watching by dhow and giant turtle hatching watches at Ras Al-Jinz
• There’s superb coral reef and wreck diving from the mainland and islands
more than half of them in the Muscat area. It already offers such luxurious four- and five-star establishments as the Grand Hyatt, Muscat, the Al Bustan Palace InterContinental Muscat, the Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah Resort & Spa, the Chedi Muscat, the Crowne Plaza Muscat and The InterContinental. Among the hotels soon to be constructed are a 300-bedroom Fairmont and a 350-bedroom Kempinski, part of the ambitious, pioneering Wave development near Muscat airport. It has already sold more than 970 townhouses and villas both to Omanis and others from numerous different countries. Several thousand more units are on
the way. They will be complemented by an 18-hole Greg Norman golf course. Already open is a 300-berth marina and a variety of shops. To the north the four-star beachfront Millennium Hotel in Mussanah opened in February with swimming pools, a 54-berth marina and reasonably-priced family-focused apartments in a separate
building. There also are plans for a pontoon-style docking area allowing passengers to be dropped off and picked up by regular ferry services linking Muscat with Khasab on the scenic, northern Musandam peninsula. Meanwhile the Salalah area at the southern tip of the country has its first Marriott with Movenpick and a Club Med scheduled for next year. And tented areas are continuing to expand for those wishing to overnight in the desert areas. On the transport side, the National Ferries Company has expanded its passenger service to include auto transport from Muscat to Khasab, enabling tourists to bypass the long drive and visa requirements involved in passing by land through intervening United Arab Emirates territory. The company plans to link up more than 12 ports, including three islands, along the coast in the next five years.
Muscat International Airport is gradually expanding and will evolve into a whole new airport by 2014. As a
• Consider underground trips into the Majlis al Jinn, the world's second largest cave chamber
• Shop in some 500 souks, notably Muscat's Muttrah and Nizwa's silver and craft market
• Fascinating museums include Muscat's Bait Al Zubair and Bait Al Baranda
• Seductive spas include the Evason Hideaway & Six Senses Spa at Zigby Bay on the Musandam peninsula
result it will increase handling capacity from four million to nine million passengers a year and offer a runway capable of handling the world's largest aircraft, the A380 Airbus. There are also plans to expand the airport in Salalah and to open four new regional airports. Meanwhile, Oman Air, which provides the only direct, non-stop service from London (Heathrow) to Muscat, has introduced 14 new routes and increased the size of its fleet from 17 to 23 since it introduced the A330 in 2009. It also, uniquely, offers both Wi-Fi and mobile phone use in flight plus an unusually generous 34” economy class seat pitch. As for new attractions, the region's first Royal Opera House, seating 850 for opera and 1,100 for concerts, is
scheduled to open towards the end of this year and a new, 10-gallery art and cultural National Museum will welcome visitors sometime next year.
Also on the cards for 2012 is the
Clockwise from left: The Chedi, Muscat; Shangri-La Bar Al Jissah, from the coast and closer up; traditionally-dressed Omani girls.
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