His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has sent a cable of congratulations to President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China on the occasion of him being re-elected as a President of the Republic for another presidential term.

In his cable, His Majesty expressed his sincere congratulations along with his best wishes of success to President Jinping, the Chinese friendly people further progress and prosperity and the friendship relations between the two countries further progress.

Scores of people in Muscat will turn off their lights for an hour on March 24.

The gesture is a part of the Environment Society of Oman’s (ESO) global annual Earth Hour commemoration. People have been requested to turn off their lights from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm to raise awareness and conserve energy.

ESO will also be holding an event for entertaining and educating guests with several programmes. The event will be held at Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Bausher on the same day. It will start at 6.30pm with a “scavenger hunt”, which will challenge participants to solve riddles using clues and information about humpback whales to find the hidden treasure.

This will be followed by other forms of entertainment, including live music performances, colouring activities for children, and food stalls. At 8:30 pm, an environmental documentary will be played during the “lights out” session.

The global theme of Earth Hour this year is “Connect2Earth”, which focuses on raising awareness about global biodiversity and its importance to ecosystems. In line with the theme, this year’s ESO event will focus on the Arabian Sea humpback whales, through a new collaboration with the organisation Xcape Muscat, which would be involved in the scavenger hunt.

“The focus of the event will primarily be on raising awareness over environmental issues, rather than saving energy. We have, however, noticed that we have been saving a good amount of energy every year,” Yusra Jaffer, Public Relations Manager at ESO, said.

“Over the last seven years, Earth Hour has been gaining traction in Oman. ESO works to achieve this by implementing several local conservation and awareness programmes and initiatives. Last year’s event attracted more than 400 people. The success of Earth Hour 2017 inspired us to continue our efforts to raise awareness through exciting interactive programmes that engage with the community and promote a culture of rationalisation and conservation. We are confident that participants will gain an insight into the importance of biodiversity and environmental sustainability,” Suaad Al Harthi, Programmes Director at ESO, said.

“As far as Arabian Sea humpback whales are concerned, we want to make people more aware. We want to tell people about the threat to these whales from ship strikes and the like, besides giving general information about marine life,” she added.

Xcape Muscat Chairman Abdullah Juma Saif Al Fahdi said, “We are honoured to be a part of this important global event that addresses pressing environmental challenges endangering our planet and future generations.”

All individuals and companies interested in participating in Earth Hour can take the pledge or find out more information at www.omanearthhour.org. ESO’s Suaad Al Harthi thanked the sponsors of this year’s Earth Hour event, Special Technical Services LLC (STS) and Al Zawawi Group.

Muscat: The new terminal of the Muscat International Airport will be a “silent” terminal.

Passengers will get most of the flight information on the display boards put up all around the terminal.

Airline officials said passenger boarding calls will only be made occasionally in the departure and boarding gate areas, at the new terminal of the Muscat International Airport. “The new terminal building will be silent with minimum announcements. All information the guests need will be displayed on screens around the terminal,” the national carrier of Oman, Oman Air, said.

It also said: “We can’t wait to see the new passenger terminal designed with the latest state-of-the-art technology and infrastructure facilities.”

Airline officials said limited boarding calls will be made in front of international departures gates, in keeping with global trends of silent airports and passengers becoming increasingly self-sufficient. Passengers at the new airport are advised to check their boarding passes and the flight information display boards for boarding times. Additionally, robots will guide passengers to the check-in counters at the new terminal when it opens on March 20.

“Besides robots, there will new screens, more people to assist the passengers at the new airport,” a senior OAMC official said.

Many international airports have already adopted a silent airport policy to improve airport ambience and reduce complaints about the number and frequency of calls for individual passengers, who have checked in but not arrived at the boarding gates, to board their flights. “We trust that passengers will take note of their individual responsibility in getting to their boarding gate and boarding the aircraft in good time,” said an airline official.

Suresh Kumar, an Indian expat, said: “These days, people don’t rely on the audio announcements anymore. They follow the signs and digital display of information and can do without the public address system. If it goes silent, then it would be a relief.”

The Wetland Reserve in the Governorate of Al Wusta is ranked one of the top 25 sites of international importance for winter migratory birds in the Middle East, and falls in the migration route between Asia and East Africa.

Located in the Wilayat of Mahut, the Wetland Reserve, declared as such by Royal Decree No. 51/2014, is a pristine site spread over an area of 2,621 square kilometres, with complex ecosystems and a unique biodiversity.

It is one of the world’s rare sites for the study of the sustainable use of wetlands in an intertidal zone.

The Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs is currently coordinating with the relevant authorities to declare the site as the nation’s second wetland reserve, after the Natural Qurm Reserve in the Governorate of Muscat, under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. Work is underway to complete the registration for the site.

The Sultanate has officially acceded to this agreement, under Royal Decree No. 64/2012.

The Wetland Reserve in the Wilayat of Mahut is a tourist resort for nature lovers, bird watchers, and wildlife lovers. It has the potential to contribute to the nation’s economy by focusing on the direct and indirect values related to the sustainability of natural resources.

The Bar Al Hakman peninsula forms the largest part of the Wetlands Reserve, consisting of coastal and inland plains of salt, mud flats, and some saltwater lakes of unique natural and geological importance overlooking the west coast of Masirah Island.

It enjoys unique natural components and has a range of islands, estuaries, avicennia trees, sea turtles, and marine mammals, including the rare and endangered Arabian humpback whales, and a range of coral reefs and seagrass. It also has a number of endemic species, such as the Oman clown, carnival corals, hawksbill, loggerhead and green turtles, common and red sandpipers, vultures, cedar birds and the curlew bird.

Since the mid-1980s, Bar Al Hakman has become a centre for the study of water birds in the Sultanate, which is carried out by volunteers and experts from international organisations.

The area has large salt landfills, which are of scientific importance in the migration of birds. It is a major stop in the migration path in the winters for thousands of aquatic birds, such as seagulls, sycamores and pterosaurs.

Recent field surveys carried out by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs, in cooperation with international experts, revealed an increase in the number of migratory birds visiting the reserve annually, with more than half a million birds stopping during the winter period. Eighteen varieties of birds were classified, including the crab plover, haematopoidea, pluvialis apricaria and others.

The Bar Al Hakman area also includes the largest natural cluster of avicennia in the Sultanate, on the Mahut Island in Ghubat Hashish. The total area of these trees is about 162 hectares.

There are also two species of marine grass in the Wetland Reserve in Al Wusta.

They maintain the ecological and chemical balance of the coastal waters and are used by many species of fish and crustaceans for breeding and food.

Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs received in his office on Tuesday Johanna Brandt, Secretary General of the Foreign Affairs Ministry in the Netherlands, currently visiting the Sultanate within the framework of the regular political consultations between the two countries.

The meeting stressed the strong historic relations and the importance of the existing cooperation and partnership between the two friendly countries and peoples.

The meeting also touched on several political issues of common concern.

Meanwhile, the 25th round of the political consultations between the two countries were held at the General Diwan of the Foreign Ministry.

The Omani side was chaired by Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamoud Al Busaidi, Secretary General of the Foreign Ministry, while the Dutch side was chaired by Johanna Brandt, Secretary General of the Foreign Affairs Ministry.

During the session, the two sides dealt with scope of strengthening the bilateral relations and enhancing cooperation in various promising areas of common interests, particularly the economic, trade and investment fields, as well as supporting the partnership at the commercial and private sector level.

The two sides stressed their keenness on promoting the cooperation opportunities in the areas of water management, logistics and clean energy.

At the diplomatic and political level, the two sides exchanged views on several challenges, current regional and international issues, and the efforts exerted to solve these issues through peaceful means, as well as dialogue and political negotiations.

The session was attended by a number of officials at the ministry, the Dutch appointed-ambassador to the Sultanate and the delegation accompanying the guest.

Muscat: More than 100 participants are expected to sign up for a new tourism expo in Oman, which aims to further drive tourism and boost investment in the Sultanate.

The Essence of Oman expo will target five high-potential areas of Oman’s tourism sector, which has been earmarked as one of the key points of development in the nation’s Tanfeedh plans for economic diversification.

“Oman has a lot of options for tourists, and this is why we are primarily going to target five areas of leisure: adventure, culture and history, and spa and wellness are three of the most important aspects of Oman, and you also have conventional tourists who also come here to relax, in addition to those who come here for marine activities such as deep-sea diving and snorkelling,” said Eva Mulyana, general manager for Thuriya, the organisers behind the expo.

Set to be held at the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre from March 12 to 14, Essence of Oman is run in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism and Riyada, Oman’s SME development arm.

“We began preparation for this about a year ago, because we realised that Oman has immense potential when it comes to developing tourism,” she added.

“There are still some areas that are unfortunately underdeveloped, and if tourists don’t have access to proper facilities – which may be something as simple as toilets by the beach – they will not see Oman as a long-term, viable tourist destination and will then go elsewhere, and this will hurt the economy.

“Oman has all the ingredients to become a world-class tourist destination and so we are trying to make that happen,” said Mulyana. “Our first priority is to open this up to local investors and then we will look to invite foreign investors the next time onward.”

“We have invited local representatives from many sectors, including adventure and outdoor sports, food and beverage, transportation and spa companies among many others, so investors will be able to see the variety of services available on offer.”

Mulyana hopes that Essence of Oman will one day be able to grow until it is able to rival the Arabian Travel Market, the GCC’s biggest travel expo, which takes place every April in Dubai.

“When we invited many of the companies, they said they would be attending the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai, and we realised that so many companies from Oman are going there when they should really be attracting customers by promoting themselves here,” she revealed. “When companies from here go to Dubai, they have to pay a lot more for designs, travel costs, hotel expenses and the exhibition stalls so there are a lot more advantages here.

“Oman is a country that has so much to offer as compared to the rest of the GCC nations, because it has so much heritage and culture that the other nations maybe don’t have, and the people here are so friendly,” explained Mulyana. “In Oman, you can see everything from the deserts to the mountains to the seas and the wadis and there are so many things that people who have lived here for so long have not seen as well, so where else will you get this?”

Oman’s long-standing reputation as a peaceful and non-controversial nation would also help attract investment in future, she added. “Every tourist and investor wants to come to a country that is stable and peaceful because that means there is a better chance for businesses to be successful, and that is especially important in the case of tourism,” said Mulyana. “Oman has long been a nation that is peaceful this will definitely work in its favour.

“We have known for a while now that Oman is looking to move away from its traditional oil and gas-based sources of revenue, and since it has so much potential for tourism, I believe investment in Oman’s tourism sector will help in the future, because it will ultimately benefit the economy,” she added.

Oman’s Unesco World Heritage sites could well see plenty of visitors flock to them during the tourist season, say travel agents and tour guides in the country.

The Sultanate is currently home to four Unesco sites – the ancient Bat Tombs, and Bahla Fort, in the north of the country, the ancient port of Al Baleed, which was once the hub of ancient frankincense trade in Salalah, and the falaj systems that are still the lifeblood of the country’s traditional agricultural practices.

Once the beating heart of the global frankincense trade, Al Baleed in Salalah remains one of the most popular tourist destinations the year round.

“The city of Al Baleed was built in the year 2500BC,” said Amer Al Rawas, of the Museum of the Land of Frankincense in Salalah. “The area known as the Land of Frankincense has four places: Khor Rori, Wadi Dawka, Wubar and Al Baleed. Khor Rori was another name for Samharam.”

“In 2016, the total number of tourists coming to the UNESCO heritage site were more than 117,000, and they enjoy seeing the ancient artefacts, the types of frankincense, the traditional boats, and many other items of Oman’s ancient culture,” he added. “Frankincense has been part of Oman’s history and culture for a long time, because you had Al Baleed as the trading place for frankincense from many parts of the world, such as the Pharaohs of Egypt, the Romans and the rulers of Sindh.

“In the 2017 khareef season, we had more than 50,000 tourists over more than three months,” said Al Rawas.

“We have three main seasons for tourists: our first season sees many European tourists come here from October to April. During our khareef season, most of the tourists we get are from the Gulf countries. We also have many students from Dhofar come to see us from September to December, and then they come once again from February to June.”

Ali Muhammadi is a licenced tour guide and co-founder of Omani travel blog OmanTripper. He had much to share about Bahla fort, which was built during the Nabahina dynasty, which lasted from 1154 to 1624.

“Bahla fort is quite popular because it is one of the oldest castles in the region and stood through many generations of rulers through Oman’s history,” he said. “When you look at the history of the fort, it was quite clear that it was built upon many foundations, some going back as far as the pre-Nabahina dynasty.

“The whole area around Bat is scattered with beehive tombs, but that is just one of the areas,” he added.

“If you drive in this region, which is located next to Ibri, you will see other places such as Al Ayn and Al Khutm, which have similar beehive tombs.

“These tombs date back to the Bronze Age, which was more than 5,000 years ago, and here you are, standing five metres away from it, so this is really fascinating.

“Oman’s falaj system is known for its complexity and history dating back thousands of years in Oman, and the technique of transporting large quantities of water across long distances in those days is really fascinating, and our ancestors developed this using groundwater and rainwater from the mountains,” he said. “If you visit some of the areas in Al Dakhiliyah and trace the source of a Falaj system, you will see that the source of the groundwater is sometimes kilometres away.”

In the wake of Oman promoting itself as a tourist destination, travel agents in the country are receiving plenty of enquiries about these Unesco World Heritage sites.

“More and more people are now starting to discover places outside of Muscat, and in terms of history, these places are landmarks and memorable to the people in Oman,” said Michelle Callaje, senior travel consultant at TravelPoint. “These days, there is a drastic increase in enquiries about people wanting to visit these places.

“We are getting about 150 enquiries about these places from various clients every month, but previously, that number was only about five or 10,” she added. “This has been the case since the first or second quarter of this year.”

Oman will soon be home to the world’s largest botanical garden.

Located 35 kilometres from the capital, Muscat, the Oman Botanic Garden will cover more than 1,000 acres and will feature eight of the varied habitats found in the country, with all of the plants and animals featured in the gardens sourced locally. The garden will showcase the wide variety in Oman’s biodiversity.

Three companies have been drafted in to build the Oman Botanic Garden, in collaboration with the Diwan of Royal Court, which has spearheaded this initiative. British architecture and design firms Arup, Grimshaw and Haley Sharpe Design (HSD) jointly delivered the engineering, landscaping, architecture and interpretive designs of the garden.

Located in the foothills of Oman’s famed Hajar Mountains, the site was chosen because of its natural rock formations, ridges and ravines. It is also one of the few unspoiled locations in the world, where people can see the ancient sea bed, before tectonic activity raised it 100 metres above the sea level. Eight different habitats have been set up inside the garden, with two biomes set up for the more sensitive environments.

A curved structure, designed to let in plenty of light, houses the northern biome, which features the flora and fauna of the northern mountains of Oman, while a circular dome features the southern biome and contains the unique biodiversity found in the Dhofar region. A regulated atmosphere within these biomes mimics the environment found in these regions.

Astonishing project

“The Oman Botanic Garden is an astonishing project with many layers of interwoven cultural and environmental significance,” said Keith Brewis, partner in Grimshaw. “Its scale and diversity is truly world-leading, and we are honoured to work as the architects for a project that has the conservation of bio-diversity as its core design driver.”

The three architecture firms specialise in designing buildings that coexist with the environment, and in keeping with this, have ensured that the buildings are sustainable and designed to meet the highest global standard of sustainability, LEED Platinum. In addition to these, with water being a scarce resource in this region, the water used for irrigation and aesthetic features are sourced locally and recycled to ensure not a drop is wasted.

“At Arup, we have enjoyed the many unique challenges presented by the Oman Botanic Garden, from designing natural and authentic landscapes to recreating the cool mists of the Khareef,” affirmed Ed Clarke, associate director of Arup.

“More than 700 of our multi-disciplinary engineers and specialist designers were engaged to explore and find solutions that would befit such an ambitious and creative project. The Oman Botanic Garden must surely be one of the most marvellous projects in the world.”

With Oman looking to diversify its economy through the Tanfeedh plan for economic diversification, tourism has been earmarked as one of the areas for expansion, and this garden can be enjoyed by residents and tourists for generations to come. The project is due to start on site soon.

Cultural heritage

Alisdair Hinshelwood, director and designer for HSD, added: “The Oman Botanic Garden project set itself and the entire design team unique technical and cultural objectives, and aspirations. HSD has relished working on a project where the botanical, landscape and cultural heritage of Oman is being expressed through the detailed scientific research, technical design and sheer creative enthusiasm of the entire team, client and design alike.”

All of the materials used in the construction of the Oman Botanic Garden are environmentally sustainable, and are designed to create an open and spacious environment for people to enjoy, besides allowing plenty of light to enter the indoor areas of the garden.

 Passengers arriving at Oman’s new flagship airport will have the opportunity to pre-book one of 7,000 parking spaces, a senior official has revealed.

All drivers arriving at the new airport will be able to reserve car park slots before arriving, Saud Nasser Said Al Hubaishi, General Manager of Readiness, Oman Airports Management Company, told Times of Oman, and some drivers can take advantage of reserved parking bays.

7,000 car parkings

“The new Muscat International Airport will have over 7,000 car parking spaces, all of which offer shaded car parking. We have two multi-storey buildings for short stay close to the forecourt, which is the entrance to the terminal building.

“For those looking to park in long stay, we are looking to implement a shuttle service to take passengers to the terminal. With the new systems in place, you can reserve your car park slot before you reach the airport, with the ease of cash and card payments. The car rental providers will also have a dedicated car park close to the terminal building.”

He was speaking ahead of 2017 Airports Council International (ACI) Airport Exchange forum, which will start from Wednesday, and will witness the participation of more than 1,500 aviation management experts from around the world.

The two-day forum will be held under the auspices of Yahya bin Saeed Al Jabri, Chairman of SEZAD and Chairman of the Board of Directors of OAMC.

The forum, which is being held at the Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre, is considered one of the most important gatherings on the global air transport calendar.

The ACI Airport Exchange forum is being hosted by Oman Airports Management Company to enhance the capacity of the Sultanate’s airports to serve different sectors through the exchange of knowledge and experience with some of the global experts in airport management.

Saud Nasser Said Al Hubaishi added: “The vision for Oman Airport Management Company is ‘to be among the top 20 airports in the world by 2020’ earning the title through delivering an exceptional Customer Experience. This journey started two years ago, with the launch of the company strategy and a refocus on enhancing our culture.

“Achieving such a vision requires having world class facilities, such as those we have in Salalah Airport, and in the new Muscat International Airport. But being among the top 20 is not only about the magnificent buildings, it’s also about our people themselves. As such, we are investing a lot in our people to support the culture of our 2020 vision.

“For a passenger, the most important components of their experience are the attitudes of the people they interact with and the ease of their journey through the airport, from the moment they arrive to the moment they leave… For me as a passenger, it’s not only about being in a beautiful setting, it’s about service.

“Our staff have undertaken customer experience training and leadership workshops to ensure our passengers are well looked after, both front of house and from the work going on behind the scenes. We firmly believe that happy staff lead to happy passengers. This is how we differentiate ourselves from other airports; through our culture. To add to the passenger experience we want to bring the unique identity of Oman into their journey through the new Muscat International Airport.

“We have a team dedicated to looking after artworks and entertaining activities, with the They are responsible for making Omani culture come alive in the airport through art installations and innovative campaigns.”

Al Hubaishi added: “We are introducing applications and technology into all aspects of the airport. We have self-service check-in, mobile check in and self-bag drop, as well as the option to book and pay via phone for any preferred services such as pre-booking fast track services and receiving the confirmation ahead of your arrival.

Dedicated routes

“Each category of traveller will have dedicated routes and facilities, so passengers can travel with convenience and ease. The new fast track facilities are available to everyone; you do not have to be a business class passenger to enjoy efficient travelling.

“We will also introduce a fully comprehensive call centre, so we can reach the customers before they reach us. As an example of how this service would be of benefit, should the car park be full, we will disseminate this information to the passengers before they arrive to the airport.

“We are really excited about the new retail offerings at the new Muscat International Airport. Our commercial team has procured both mainstream and luxury brands into the airport retail, as well as providing opportunities for travellers to purchase local products as mementos of their visit.

“We will be serving different passenger profiles and, as such, will offer everything from day-to-day items as well as high-end goods and services,” he summed up.

Regarding the security, he said: “The new airport has been designed with security and safety at its core using state of the art biometric smart technology to track any unauthorised access or inconsistencies. We have focused on creating a streamlined, integrated security process, whilst maintaining a great ambiance in the airport: This is an important part of the overall customer experience; when you feel safe and secure, your trip is calmer.”

It will take 10,000 people to operate, manage and maintain the new Muscat International Airport, who will be working on 24 hours shifts.