Muscat: The visitor influx to Khareef Dhofar has experienced a notable surge this year, with a total of 816,081 individuals traversing the region since the commencement of the season until August 15. This represents a 10.3% increase in visitation figures when juxtaposed with the analogous period in 2023, where 739,884 individuals were recorded. These figures, based on preliminary estimates published by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), reflect a growth in visitor numbers.
Data from the NCSI further elucidates that approximately half of the visitors, accounting for 49.4%, arrived in the initial half of August. The data also indicates a 10% rise in the visitation numbers among Omani tourists, standing at 567,761. Concurrently, the influx of visitors from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations escalated to 139,781 individuals, a significant increase from the previous year's count of 125,889. Furthermore, the number of visitors originating from other nationalities surged to 108,540, a notable escalation from the 97,719 recorded in 2023.
By mid-August, the visitation figures had reached 648,083 individuals, with a corresponding increase in air travel arrivals, reaching 167,998, signifying a 6.2% increment in air passenger arrivals from the same period in the previous year.
