April 19- The tourism sector's share in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will be more than three per cent during the Eighth Five Year Development Plan (2011-2015), said Muhammad al Tobi, Under-Secretary, Ministry of Tourism. The sector, he said, will hopefully go well beyond the objectives set by the Oman's Vision-2020, of increasing its relative share to three per cent of the GDP by 2020.
The 25-year Oman's Economic Vision (1995-2020), the master plan for the development of non-oil sectors, revolves around five areas of focus for tourism: establishing Oman as a regional travel and tourism hub; increasing tourism industry's contribution to GDP to three per cent; increasing the private sector's participation; attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) and increasing Omanisation.
"The question of tourism sector's relative share in the GDP needs clarification. Its share, which stands at around one per cent per cent at present, includes only hotels and restaurants. Meanwhile, Port Sultan Qaboos played host to a trio of luxury cruise liners (Costa Luminosa, Brilliance of the Seas and The World of the United States), affording passersby a spectacle more reminiscent of European ports,” he added.
Located on the eastern tip of North Male' Atoll, Paradise Island Resort, locally known as Lankanfinolhu, is a sight for sore eyes. The third largest resort in Maldives, it offers superb accommodation to tourists with its water and beach bungalows. Paradise Resort offers plenty of recreational and water sports facilities like diving, wind surfing, water skiing, parasailing, snorkeling, canoeing, ba...
This small district, straddling the border of Westminster and Camden, was originally a large open field owned by Westminster Abbey. In the seventeenth century, the area began to be developed. The fashionable new neighborhood was centered on a fruit and vegetable market. In the eighteenth century, vagrants and prostitutes moved in, and the area became a notorious red-light distr...
This historical palace built in the 17th century is in the Baroque style. Here you can view some wonderfully ornate decoration pieces. The floor which is most elaborately decorated still holds the paneling and ornaments from the 18th century. Also built during the same century was a pharmacy which still holds many of the original Delft items. 15 rue Droite Timings: Wednesday to ...
The exhibits in this museum are as diverse as they are interesting. The Venetian art and historical objects vary from shoes with ludicrously high-soles worn by 16th-century Venetian ladies who had to maintain their balance with the help of a servant, to a work of art by Jacopo de' Barbari called ‘Grande Pianta Prospettica’ (circa 1440-1515), which is a detailed impression of the entire 16th centur...