Before arriving in Manchester for Oman’s Selling Travel Dialogue I knew very little of the sultanate, and so the evening was as much an educational exercise for me as it was for a number of other attendees.
It’s worth noting in your diaries the dates of the regular Selling Travel Dialogue events, each of them providing a great opportunity to network with suppliers, meet with other agents and enhance your knowledge of worldwide destinations and products.
On this summer evening we were joined by Rob Wilson, Head of Sales and Marketing UK and Ireland for the Oman Ministry of Tourism, and Kel Patel, Oman Air’s District Sales Manager.
In a London-centric country it was heartening to see agents excited by the announcement of Oman Air’s new daily service from Manchester, opening up Oman to the northern market.
The buzzword that seems to have been constantly popping up throughout 2016 is ‘experiential travel’, and experiential is a key factor within the UK market today. What can a tourist do abroad that they can’t do here?
Oman has heaps of all-new experiences and products for agents to sell, perfect for adventures, honeymoons, families and empty-nesters.
A number of factors made me want to visit Oman for myself following the event. Among them are the wide sand dunes of Ramlat Tawq and the mountain peak of Jebel Akhdar – these spectacular sites are sure to impress.
Authentic experiences can be had sampling the local culture and drinking Omani coffee or meeting local Bedouin tribes and experiencing how they live. Or head to the city of Salalah where the aroma of frankincense hangs in the air – not surprising considering it is the largest producer of it and the city is filled with frankincense trees.
It was an inspiring evening where the hosts painted a vivid picture of the sultanate, highlighting the key things to see and do, leaving all those who attended with an understanding of how to sell Oman to clients.
Some great prizes were up for grabs too. Mark Little of BCD Travel won a short break with return flights from Manchester to Muscat for two, with three nights at The Chedi, Muscat; and Alan Wright of Failsworth Travel won two return flights to Muscat with three nights at the Grand Hyatt and three nights at the Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhda resort.
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