The number of visitors to Khareef Salalah during the period from 21st June to 8th August, 2017 reached at 429 thousand and 228, including 127 thousand and 40 visitors during the seventh week (from August 2 to August 8), according to the latest statistics released by the National Centre for Statistics & Information (NCSI).
This was an 8.7% rise compared to the same period of 2016, and a 15.7% increase compared to the sixth week of this year. The number of visitors from Asia during the seventh week increased by 3.2% to 2 thousand and159 compared to 2 thousand and 93 during the sixth week. There was a 9% increase in the number of GCC visitors to 122 thousand and 956 in the seventh week compared to 106 thousand and 99 during the previous week. Among the visitors from other Arab nations, there was a 14.6% growth to 1,369 in the seventh week from 1,195 in the sixth week, while the number of European visitors increased 46.9% from 243 in the sixth week to 357 in the seventh week. The total number of visitors from other nations increased 19.9% to 199 in the seventh week compared to 166 in the sixth week.
The total number of visitors until the end of the seventh week who came by air increased 28.8% this year to 97 thousand and 650 compared to 75 thousand and 837 in 2016. Of this 48.4%, or 74 thousand and 238, arrived by domestic flights compared to 50 thousand and 38 last year. A total of 23 thousand and 412 arrived by international flights compared to 25 thousand and 799 in 2016, a decline by 9.3%, according to the data. A total of 331 thousand and 578 visitors came by land compared to 374 thousand and 171 in 2016. There was a 4.6% fall in the number of visitors in the first seven weeks of Khareef Salalah this year compared to the same period of 2016.
Of the total number of visitors, 75.1% were Omanis and there was a 3% decline in the number of Omani visitors compared to the same period last year. The visitors from GCC countries excluding Omanis stood at 15.7% of the total visitors. Asians formed 6.3% of the total visitors at the end of seventh week. Of the total visitors, 24.9% were non-Omanis and of 77.2% of visitors came by land and 22.8% by flights, according to the statistics.
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