Big demand for Muscat-Salalah trips

Oman Air recorded a huge surge in traffic between Muscat and Salalah during August and September this year, resulting from increasing demand at the end of Ramadan, the Eid Al-Fitr festivities as well as the natural attraction of the Dhofar Khareef season.
Nearly 50,000 passengers flew on the route, an increase of more than 20,000 compared with August-September 2011.
The extra flights accounted for 40 percent of the total number of people traveling to Salalah with Oman Air and the extraordinary demand for travel also resulted in an impressive average seat factor of 88 percent for this festive period.
Wayne Pearce, CEO, Oman Air, said: “These figures are extremely encouraging and demonstrate both Oman Air’s continuing commitment to investing in travel to Salalah and the popularity of Oman Air’s outstanding services.
“Oman Air has always been committed to promoting Salalah as an ideal year-round destination for visitors from both within Oman and beyond, and to serving the needs of the people living in the Dhofar region. We are therefore delighted that, as a result of our additional flights and the outstanding deals we have been offering, so many more people are flying with Oman Air and experiencing the beauty and hospitality that Salalah and Dhofar offer.”
Oman Air has been actively promoting inbound tourism to Salalah, not just by offering additional flights and special packages, but also by working closely with the Oman Ministry of Tourism and supporting the Salalah Tourism Festival, an annual event that showcases the culture and produce of Oman’s most southerly Governorate.
Hotel capacity in the area continues to grow and, in addition to the airline’s flights between Muscat and Salalah, Oman Air now operates a service between Salalah and Dubai.
Salalah is the ancient principal town in the southern-most Omani governorate of Dhofar.