Oman Ministry of Tourism has joined hands with Thomas Cook (India) (TCIL) and Zahara Tours (Oman) offering a stopover in Oman free of cost as part of Thomas Cook India’s premium European Group Tours. The initiative intends to showcase Oman to the Indian market. Thomas Cook India’s UK-Europe bound premium travellers will now have the option of a complimentary two-day stopover in Muscat, Oman. This package promotion is expected to attract over 800 passengers from May to September, 2013.
Maitha Al Mahrouqi, Undersecretary of Oman’s Tourism Ministry commended TCIL and Zahara Tours for this exceptional concept. “The Ministry values the opportunity to run a tactical consumer campaign with Thomas Cook India, a highly respected brand in the Indian travel space. We are looking at not just next season’s campaign, but rather a meaningful long-term relationship,” she said.
Madhav Pai, Director – Leisure Travel (Outbound), TCIL commented, “We are truly honoured to partner with Oman Ministry of Tourism and Zahara Tours. This partnership is a reiteration of our pioneering heritage of introducing new, exotic destinations to Indian outbound travellers. While it has been traditionally perceived as a business-only destination, we hope to showcase Oman as the new holiday destination via this path breaking initiative. Also, given the growing trend of Indians combining business with leisure, our aim is to bring Oman into focus as an ideal destination for the Indian traveller”.
India is Oman’s largest inbound market, recording 723,632 passenger arrivals in 2012, with premium travellers accounting for 12 per cent. In 2012, there were 185,942 transit passengers from India with premium passenger movements accounting for around 16 per cent of the total traffic. The Ministry believes that its tactical campaign with TCIL is an ideal opportunity to build a long-term relationship. It will also build awareness for Oman as a stop-over option for India’s business travellers who fly with Oman Air to the Gulf.
Gautam Broota, Chief Executive Officer, Zahara Tours, Oman commented, “India promises to be a huge source market for Oman. In joining hands with TCIL, we believe this campaign will help firmly establish Oman with the Indian tourists. As a pioneer in Oman, Zahara Tours has always played a path breaking role in trying to develop new ideas which help grow the Tourism industry in the destination. It is our firm belief this campaign will go a long way to achieve this objective”.
