MUSCAT Nov 19th 2005 - The eagerly awaited 2005/06 edition of DestinationOman annual print edition was launched during the national day celebrations in Oman, by the Minister of Tourism, Dr. Rajiha bint Abdulameer bin Ali.

The new edition has a striking picture depicting culture and heritage of Oman on the cover and like in the previous year has principal photography credit accorded to renowned Omani citizen and celebrity photographer Mohammad bin Al Zubair, who is also His Majesty the Sultan's adviser for economic planning affairs.

The publication which is focused on tourism, business and investment opportunities in the Sultanate of Oman, has a crisp foreword written by the Tourism Minister Dr. Rajiha bint Abdulameer bin Ali, where she says: “Oman is presently taking giant strides towards becoming a tourism and business destination of the middle east…whether to soak in its pristine beauty of to reap the benefits of its emerging economy, a visit to Oman is beginning to be a part of every avid traveller’s tour calendar.”

Boasting of very high production values this imaginatively conceptualized book is beautifully illustrated with breathtaking photographs of Oman taken by Mohammad bin Al Zubair. The book is A4 size, written in English and has 128 pages. It is also rich in content and has three sections, tourism being the first section followed by a section on business and another one on useful information for potential visitors and tourists to Oman. A unique feature of DestinationOman 2005-06 are six Picture Post Cards that are embedded within the pages of the book.

Speaking on the occasion the Tourism Minister Dr. Rajiha bint Abdulameer bin Ali said: “Tourism is growing in importance and is going to be a principal driver of the country’s economic development in the near future. The formation of the Tourism Ministry in 2004 has consolidated Oman’s tourism functions into one organisation and the ministry has already introduced several steps to promote tourism industry to grow and prosper. Our policy is to work closely with the private sector to further develop international markets for Oman tourism and DestinationOman is a fine example of such cooperation. We want to make sure that Oman is and continues to be a destination of choice with every world class tourist and traveller.”

“DestinationOman is an ideal guide for the tourists and businessmen flocking to Oman. This book not only helps to promote and showcase the tourism potential of Oman, it also helps to present the business and investment opportunities available in the Sultanate currently, in tandem with the rapid growth of the Omani economy”, she continued.
Dr. Rajiha was highly appreciative of the efforts put in by the team at DestinationOman to come out with such a prestigious publication that would make every Omani proud of his country and its amazing potential for tourism.
“This seems to be an exciting time for the tourism industry in Oman, and DestinationOman book and website aim to disseminate factual and authoritative information on Oman tourism and the facilities available here, to a worldwide audience”, commented Deepak Nair, the founder of DestinationOman.

“The response to our maiden print edition last year was truly overwhelming as people from different parts of the world sent us very encouraging and positive feedback, which has undoubtedly helped to make the 2005-06 edition even better”, said Deepak Nair.

Deepak Nair further said the book would make an excellent collector’s item and corporate gift as it had souvenir value, and even while the book was in the production stage there were highly enthusiastic requests from several five star hotels, banks and other institutions for bulk copies of the book to be reserved for them, once it was published. Deepak Nair added that he and his team would like to express their sincere gratitude the Ministry of Tourism, Mohammad bin al Zubair and to all the advertisers for the support and cooperation rendered in bringing out the publication.

The latest edition of DestinationOman is available through a chain of bookshops in Oman and UAE and other GCC countries. For a limited period Corporate customers in Oman can log in to the website www.destinationoman.com and reserve their free copy.