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Tourism summit for national growth to held in December [Times of Oman](Times of Oman Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Muscat: Held under the theme - 'Investments in Oman's Tourism Sector towards propelling National Growth', the Oman Tourism Summit will be held alongside ITHS 2014 on December 14 and 15, 2014. The Summit, which will be held at the Oman International Exhibition Centre from 10am to 2pm, puts investment and development opportunities in the spotlight, discussing the industry's trends and outlook presented by renowned professionals and industry experts in various aspects. Led by the Ministry of Tourism, Oman is actively being promoted as a luxury and well-being destination internationally, and is an emerging attraction for wedding, MICE & film tourism within the Indian market. India's Ambassador to Oman, J.S. Mukul, as a guest of honour and speaker at the Summit, will elaborate on the role of India-Oman ties in promoting the tourism sector. The UNWTO has rated the Indian market as one that is bound to be a major outbound nation in the coming years, making it a potential market for tourism opportunities. The tourism sector in Oman has various development opportunities in several areas, including Omanisation, services and quality, promotion, immigration and transport. To explore them, Pankaj Kanaksi Khimji, partner director, Khimji Ramdas LLC will provide Summit attendees with a 360 degree perspective on the tourism sector also covering opportunities and challenges to be unlocked. Attendees will see through the eyes and intelligence of the speaker where to invest and capitalize for their business growth. Nearing completion in 2016, the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre is opening new horizons for the MICE sector. Oman is being positioned as a unique tourist destination that has the ability to combine leisure offerings to business tourists by upgrading the experience of exhibitors and visitors. This will encourage local and international organisers to host high level events, conferences, meetings and international exhibitions. In this regard, Trevor McCartney, general manager, Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre will point out the strategy for enabling MICE tourism investments and the role of the upcoming convention centre. The Ministry of Tourism's marketing strategy aims to promote Oman internationally as a quality destination for tourists and spread tourism benefits across the Sultanate of Oman. The ministry's various programmes showcase Oman as a preferred location for business, trade, tourism and living. Fabio Scacciavillani, chief economist, Oman Investment Fund (OIF) in placing Oman on the global tourism map, will determine where Oman stands with regard to regional and international tourism. Martin Kubler FIH, International Hospitality and service industries consultant, lecturer, columnist and innovation specialist, will explain how given the right strategy and management, Oman can gain a crucial competitive advantage in the local and regional online space when it comes to attracting new and retaining existing tourism business in his topic Destination 2.0 - Digital Travellers and the Destination Oman: Engaging travellers in an 'Always-On' culture. Filippo Sona, director, Head of Hotels (MENA Region), Colliers International will offer 'A hotel development perspective for developing business tourism for 2020' highlighting the extent of demand for mid-market hotels, serviced apartments and MICE within business travel, new opportunities for investments as well as the mix that facilities owners should be building in order to attract more business travellers to the region. Oman registered solid tourism growth in the first half of the year with more than one million international tourists visiting the country. One of the proactive measures of the government to ensure growth of the travel and tourism sector includes plans to increase the number of international airports. Along these lines, Saeed K. Al Zadjally, acting CEO / GM – technical services, Oman Airports Management Company will highlight the impact of operational readiness of new and upcoming airports on boosting tourism for the Sultanate. Garry Friend, general manager, Grand Hyatt Muscat is a confirmed panellist for the panel discussion which will be taking place at the Summit. (c) 2014 Muscat Press and Publishing House SAOC Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info). |