Saturday 16 / November / 2024
Muscat: Opening your home to tourists without taking permission from the Ministry of Tourism (MoT) and the municipality concerned is illegal, a senior official said.
The statement was issued in the wake of the Khareef (monsoon) season in the Dhofar governorate, which will continue until September 21 this year. The governorate has started receiving a large number of tourists.
During this season, the Salalah Tourism Festival is also organised, which is expected to conclude on August 31.
Already, 58,867 tourists have visited the southern city until July 9, according to National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI). As per data provided by the NCSI, 23,636 Asians visited Salalah, compared with 20,909 Omanis.
Emirati citizens topped the number of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) tourists at 5,628, compared with 2,179 Saudis.
Terming a common practice illegal, an official from MoT in Salalah said a lot of people sublet their houses as there aren’t many hotels in Salalah.
A team comprising of MoT and Dhofar Municipality’s officials is keeping this in check.
Not only in Dhofar, subletting homes is illegal in Muscat too. “You should always have an agreement or contract from the owner of the building,” said an official from the Muscat Municipality.
Citing the example of Saudi Arabia, residents argued said that citizens use their cars as taxis as there aren’t enough taxis available during the Haj season.
Even popular websites, such as Airbnb.com, are offering some properties listed for rent in Oman, starting from around OMR4 per night, allowing people to select an entire villa, private room or shared rooms.
The Salalah Tourism Festival 2016 has already begun and is based on the theme, “Oman: Love & Peace.”
Sheikh Salim bin Ufait Al Shanfari, head of the Dhofar Municipality and the head of the Festival Organising Committee, said the festival this year will hold several activities in various fields, such as economic, heritage, social, cultural, sports and entertainment.
The festival will include many activities, such as the traditional village, which will showcase traditional handicrafts, arts, games, local cuisine and costumes.
