Is golf sustainable in Oman?

There are quite a few people, especially in countries where golf has not been traditionally part of life, who see golf as a rather posh activity, the delight of the rich and famous.

If you live in GCC you might be one of them.  This however goes completely against the essence of the game as still to be found in the homeland of golf: UK and more particular Scotland.  Clubhouses there are not 40,000 square feet hospitality monuments, with luxury restaurants and massive pro shop outlets featuring the latest, most expensive gear which, contrary to a consumerist impulse, it will not make your game any better.  Courses are mainly walked, and there are no GPS screens that slow your cart down when on a slope, or giving hints on how to score a birdie.  The number of staff on such courses is typically less than the number of holes, which are designed to seamlessly integrate into their environment.

This is not to say that the new golf courses being built in the country are not good initiatives. So are OGC’s efforts to promote the game among locals, especially youth.

There is one fundamental issue that will make or break the long term sustainability of golf in these countries particularly Oman: is creating the critical mass of local players.  And this goes back to the affordability of the game.

Championship courses built from exorbitant budgets will not be able to charge green fees affordable for a wide range of locals (currently they range from RO30 to 55).  Easy courses, enjoyable for beginners, featuring affordable academy programs, perhaps even integrated in schooling curricula are key in achieving a wide reach.  Countries like Sweden and Finland have achieved remarkable results growing their golfing population by promoting the game through several 9-hole municipal courses, a sort of golf playgrounds.

On the other hand, it is well known that a destination can only claim appeal for golf tourist if it has at least 4-5 outstanding golf course in close proximity, within 30-40 minutes driving distance. Dubai ticks the box for for a long time now and results are obvious. It claims a major chunk of European golf travelers.  Morocco would be another example perhaps more comparable to Oman. Muscat is making good progress as well with two 18-hole green course open (Almouj at The Wave and Muscat Hills) and the third one opening soon (Ghala Valley 9-hole existing with another 9 under construction).

I am afraid we can hardly sit on both saddles at the same time. Focusing on establishing Muscat as a golfing destination and creating state of the art golf facilities will not be a guarantee for promoting the game of golf among locals and building a critical mass of Omani golf enthusiasts.  While having more affordable 9-hole “municipally supported” courses and driving ranges with 3-4 practice holes will achieve this result but will not mark Muscat on golfing map of GCC.  Rightly or wrongly, it seems priorities are set for the first now; hope it will yield the desired results.

Golf courses in Muscat:

Muscat Hills – 18 holes + driving range and academy. Currently temporary club house to be completed by 2015 together with a new Intercontinental Hotel on site

Almouj (The Wave) – 18 holes PGA championship course + 9 hole par 3 course to be opened in a couple of month.  Extensive driving range and state of the art academy.

Ghala Valley – 9-hole green course with second 9 under construction

Ras Al Hamra Golf Club – (PDO's golf club) currently a brown course, with greens made of oil compacted sand, new course under construction to be opened in 2014.

OFF as Omani Flavors Festival

As the old saying goes “You are what you eat”. Let’s twist it around a bit and claim that “You are liked as much as your food”. While the latter is less philosophical it certainly applies when it comes to gastro tourism i.e. the touristic appeal of the local food.

Let’s just start from the basics and assume that the Arab world and in particular Oman does not lack genuine recipes and interesting traditions of cooking and nutrition. What might lack though is focus on showcasing all of this [link to previous post].  While the number of restaurants and food places have grown over the last years, there are still very few that provide a truly Omani experience. Nor are enough places and events that have as main goal to promote the local cuisine (as diverse as it may be) bringing the indigenous flavors back in people’s mouth.

But this has changed now. We have recently attended the well-planned and nicely organized Omani Flavors Festival!  And I mean a standalone festival, not a food court for another event diluted to range of take away food stalls.  A whole master planned space structured around the ritual of eating. It has an “Appeteaser” area with a selection of mandazi (triangle shaped bread), bajeeya (fried bean balls), and mishkaak (meat skewers on a stick) prepared on the spot, engaging the visitors right from the entrance. Then we moved on to the Khubz Village where women were baking the different type of Arabic flat breads (rikhal, muhala) in a traditional way.  Our kids could not help engaging for a baking workshop in the Kiddie Kitchen, which kept them entertained and busy for quite some time.  We also bumped into the HealtyChoice area where all recipes were focused on your health without compromising (too much) on your joy.  Some choices were even better tasting than the originals.  After some hours of intense palate work we stopped for a wind down in the Majlis Al Khawa – focused on the great Omani coffee and a tea selection.  Tasting the still hot halwa in the Dessert District got us as close as possible to a fulfilling experience.

A cozy food and spice souk --leading you out to the parking area-- was offering all-you-can-imagine spices, ingredients and even traditional kitchen wear. We could also get vouchers for restaurants that offer genuine local recipes.

There were also a range of unique events and happenings that spiced up the dish.  Recipe competitions – open for all gourmand enthusiast, Chefs’ parades – engaging the heavy guns of the local restaurateur community.  We heard that a Shuwa day took place on the first and the last day of the festival showing the skills and technic of this great lamb cooking method.

So, all in all, it was an event worth driving for even a few hours.  The only problem was that it all happened in my dream, but I guess that could change, could in not?

Buy the way, there are a whole range of similar events around the world that we can learn from [link to external site].  And if you got a bit hungry than help your choice reading some good reviews here [link to another blog].

Pictures are from whitedogleader.blogspot.com

"Laser" Chance for Oman

Probably there is no media consumer in Oman who has not heard of Oman Sail before.  And if there is any left, than beware as Oman Sail will be organizing the Laser World Championships between November 2013 and January 2014. For those not into boats, the Laser is a very popular small sailing boat (dinghy) usually sailed by one or rarely by two.


As mentioned earlier, sport events are probably most practical means for promoting a country like Oman, that lends itself to so many outdoor sport activities. Besides the benefit of promotion, the other great ripple effect is making sports popular among Omanis, a job where Oman Sail most likely has done quite well since inception.
Is not an easy call though, as organizing such events is always costly and poses several challenges to host organizations, authorities and local creative minds alike.  The great thing about this event is that is a relatively long one, so it creates several opportunities for promotion and incorporating local events between races. Here are few ideas on how to improve the impact of the event domestically and internationally:

• Fun for kids:  kids are the main draw card for many families. Since sailing is not always the most action packed sports from a spectator on the shore, killing the time with interesting, sailing related attractions will attracts more spectators (small sailing pond, sailing themed playground etc. etc.)
• Free sailing lessons for the period of the event: it is just much easier to relate and appreciate to sports if you ever tried it. At the end of the day making sailing popular is a large numbers game. The more have the chance to try, the more will fall in love with it
• Get people closer to action: using CCTV with camera close to action and projectors on the shore, as well as perhaps floating stands using mid-size cruise ships, or cargo ships installed with small stands
• Unique merchandising: good quality (!) clothing, toys, and sailing gear is essential to create a lasting image
• Synergistic events: include sailing boat exhibition or similar to enhance attraction for the same period
• Attempt for a world record: (most sails on water sailing together per sqm km, or Laser with most people on board etc.)
• Get international celebrities on board: the effort of tracking down a few big names who are into sailing,  and convincing them to be there might pay off if smartly planned
• Not just Laser: a concept that does not only focuses on Laser, but it comes across as an international fiesta of sailing sports attracting sailing enthusiasts from the region

…and many more… 

We can dance...

Would you dance? The staff of the Grosvenor House in Dubai certainly would!
A great viral video was shot recently capturing the hotel staff engaging in a so called flash mob. A cool and entertaining one. Watch the surprised faces of the most guests, while some others seemed hard-to-surprise, perhaps trained flash mob attendants.

Viral videos are a great way to market, attract attention, create buzz especially on social media and its target segments, regular facebook, tweeter, youtube users.

Obviously on this genre originality is key, so repeating this would not have the desired impact...but variation could do. Perhaps it can also take regional proportions and staff of different hotels will start competing with each other bringing on more and more interesting productions.

In fact it could also give ideas to hotels in Oman calling for a most original flash mobs. There would be multiple benefits, as besides a great marketing tool, it is also a great way to motivate and keep a team spirit among your staff!  What would be your flash mob idea?

If you need ideas on how to do a flash mob (it's not that easy as it seems) check this out.
Or see how it was done by others elsewhere.

In search of the new Habsi...

Have you heard of Puskas, Beckenbauer or Johan Cruijff ?  If not than probably football is not your thing.  If  your did, do you know their nationalities? (ɥɔʇnp 'uɐɯɹǝƃ 'uɐıɹɐƃunɥ)
Long after they have retired (Puskas passed away in 2006), are still great ambassadors for their countries. There are probably few modern day marketing budgets that can repeat the performance of these legends in promoting their countries. The Hungarian inventiveness of Puskas, the German reliability of Beckenbauer and the Dutch completeness of Cruijff.

It is clear that successful teams and athletes are often priceless when it comes to country promotion. Although he is not (yet) a legend, Ali Al Habsi is playing a similar role. He is a great ambassador for Oman and its football and he has just been included in the top 500 most influential Arabs in the world list (by Arabian Business), where he is ranked #138, the first among Omanis. There is one and a bit of a problem with him: he is all alone and he is "only" a goalkeeper.

It is probably more difficult to stand out as a striker or a mid fielder and be b(r)ought in the Premier league or any other league for that matter, but Oman definitively needs another star, a striker! Ideally it would not only be the on-pitch skills making him a star, but a well balanced off-pitch personality as well, a true sportsman. (unlike Drogba who is a superstar, a cover page personality, but how much good does he actually do for Ivory Coast in terms of image?)

So who can match up Habsi in terms of personality and performance?  Perhaps the OFA, among many other challenges, has to focus on creating at least another outstanding personality.  (one way could be to support a few of the prospects to make the second division of large championships, then it's up to them to make the cut to the first stage and excel).  Amad Al-Hosni with his 76 matches in the squad could not really make it yet. So, who could be the next Habsi?

Are Omani tour guides exceptional?

Have you ever used a tour guide in Muscat, or seen few of them in action?  The last one I noted was local guide in the Grand  Mosque who was really outstanding: engaging, knowledgeable, passionate, modest and with a lot of humor at the same time. He was speaking about Islam and its cultural aspects. Truly outstanding experience. But I have a feeling that he was an exception, hopefully I am wrong.
This reminds me about how much more a destination can offer having a sound pool of outstanding local travel guides. Nonetheless it can also be a great business for the really good ones.
I am sure most of you experienced the travel guide who is great at giving a textbook monotone speech about the attraction and destination, (making it felt that it is the 50th time he/she is doing it..that week), before it rushes on to the next attraction with extended unopened umbrella (usually of a distinct disgusting color) over his/her head.
Well, the news is that the time of such guides is moving to a slow but sure end. There will always be the traveler who prefers this type of canned food experience, slowly moving into a retro feel, to be revived few decades later as a 'cool' or nostalgic thing to do...
Until then, the new trend is the personalized, original, genuine local experience, offered by amateur or pro guides who promise great fun, originality, a non-mainstream perspective. They deliver much more than visual impressions, they put you in action, situations, stir emotions, make you interact with the city/destination. They tell stories of their own offering you a local angle of the place through their lives, but seen from your perspective. A great example of this is vayable.com. A site where tested tourist guides offer unique travel experiences. Unfortunately there is no tour registered from Oman yet, but check out the "Paris by scooter" tour or the "San Francisco's premier food" tour or the "Old Rome walking" tour.  From 3-4 hours to full day experiences you can have most of what you look for.
Let's put aside for the moment the standard offering of most local agents, and guess if there would be demand for things like:

• experiencing the souqs through the eyes of a local merchant's son,
• fishing with locals from say Bandar Khairan village, then cooking the catch with local family,
• tasting the oil exploration life style of the desert along with an interesting introduction into the world of the black gold at its source,
• do a "Local portre's" or "Past and future architecture" photo shooting tour with a local photographer
• morning horse ride or evening football on the beach with locals,
• Spend the afternoon of a bullfight with one of the bull owners from Barka and go through the excitement of the preparations and the fight,
• and so much more...

(royalty free picture from corbis.com)

Food for Thought...

What's the shortest way to your satisfaction when you travel? Odds are that great food might just do it!  It is also likely the shortest way to tourists' wallets! You might find it hard to refuse the prospect of a great culinary experience, even if it comes with bolder price tag. Some say food gives it's best when savored in its indigenous environment, because it's not all about the chemical reaction in ones mouth, it's about the scents, the ambiance, the sounds, the feel, the colors, the mood, the weather... everything.

This rule should be put at work in Oman as well. There is a great effort going in the development of a unique tourism offering with massive man made attractions and infrastructure, but we might loose sight of a very important feature: showcasing the local food.  Capitalizing on the local cuisine and gastronomic potential could also be a major differentiating factor when it comes to competing with other regional destinations, as most of the others are also not doing too well on this front.

In Muscat most of the tourist proof offering is either in the expensive and universal kitchen sort of range (steak based or fusion type) or is good value for money but not really local (Turkish, Indian, Pakistani etc.).

Perhaps the best place to showcase the Omani food is in Mutrah Docklands/Port  and Cornish area. A "Food District" could include a whole range of locally inspired restaurants and it could define a whole new future for the area in the spirit of so many Dockland re-genreation projects around the world (like London, or Melburne  for the larger ones, or Cape Town for size and a tourism character comparable to Muscat). A comprehensive mixed use scheme should be elaborated with several retail outlets, restaurants, cafes, residential developments overlooking the marina (de-industrialized), and why not some offices space as well do diversify. But unlike many other examples where docklands re-generations were all about the residents this one in my view will have to be equally focused at residents and tourist. Creating what is know as the Waterfront Buzz through such a "Food District". The city obviously develops and extends northwards (Ansab, Seeb etc) therefore this historic center piece has to be treated almost like a heritage site, where some essential features of the Omani culture is well presented through food, proximity to the sea and tastefully designed traditional trading outlets (obviously the Souk would be a key feature, perhaps with a better designed signage policy).

Muscat cannot forgo such an obvious call.  Maybe the fish market redevelopment scheme was carefully thought trough in this spirit.  However if such a project seems unfeasible for Mutrah, it can work well for other Omani coastal towns, perhaps at a smaller scale. What do you think?

For more on Omani restaurants visit http://www.omanicuisine.com/

What it takes to meet ambitious tourism plans

There were around 55 million tourist visiting the Middle East in 2011 (10% down from 2010). Oman hosted some 1.7 million foreign tourist which is 3% of the pie. In other words one in 33 visitors to MidEast decided to include Oman on its itinerary. These people were estimated to spend 1.28 billion USD, which is 753 USD per visitor. The cruise liners had a considerable share from this, disembarking close to quarter a million visitors last season.
The tourism authorities however do not seem to sit on these impressive results (which were considerably growing in the last couple of  years) and aim for more. Much more. Vision 2020 talks about 12 million annual visitors by 2020. That would be equal to what Egypt has now, and a third more than what UAE hosted in 2011 (9 million). Assuming current spending per visitor, the generated receipts would result in 9 billion USD revenue for the country (oil revenues budgeted for 2012 are over 15 billion USD).   I hope these are achievable targets, certainly it will take a lot of creativity and motivation from the tourism professionals to make this happen.

Achieving these targets will not only mean courageous planning and sharp implementation, but could require a much wider effort from the whole country: authorities and population alike. Taking the unrivaled friendliness of Omanis and elevating is to a genuine hospitality culture, along with preserving the natural attractions will be key. The whole visitor experience will have to be improved from the sense of arrival, through the driving around experience, to the wow effect of exploring the clean and untouched beaches, wadi's and mountains. Tourist are very picky and harsh customers, and while they can appreciate a sense of local touch in most of what they see, they will go unforgiving on quality of food, lack of road safety, slow or overpriced service, lack of hygiene or general cleanness. So there is a lot to do and cannot be all expected from the tourism ministry.
(numbers should be considered indicative and are taken from unverified online sources: newspapers, magazines and third party analysis)

The Where-To-Go-On-Week-End dilemma made fun

We already stressed the importance of domestic travel for creating a less volatile tourism for Oman.

There are quite a few ways to stimulate domestic tourism from discount vouchers offered to residents and/or employees, all the way to week-end and family packages.  Few might think of making the selection of your destination easier as a measure to improve domestic tourism. They might be wrong.

Choosing where to go for a week-end get away in Oman is not always an easy task. One cool and unique way of converting this dilemma into fun is to create a short online visual test that gauges your mood for the type of a week-end experience.

Hotels.com booking engine had such an experiment some years ago, using the VisualDNA platform. The idea was to ask you to express a series of visual choices that best describe your mood or desire to experience for the upcoming trip. Based on the answers the database behind the slick and cool platform recommended a selection of hotels that were believed to offer what you need. To get a feel of the the approach try the personality test on the same site.

Transposing the idea into domestic destinations more like only hotels, could be an original and unique way to promote some less known but interesting Omani destinations. Could be a nice project for the private sector or the ministry? Your call...

One thing for sure, it is perhaps time to get inspired from more than just Oman Off Road  or the Y magazine weekly recommendations.

Using the power of subtle promotion

It is well known that more often then not an article or an "independent" review worth more than tons of expensive advertising.  Obviously this is nothing new for the professionals responsible for the promotion of Oman as a tourism destination. I am almost sure that there is an (albeit small) team in the Ministry of Tourism, that works on putting together an agenda of international sporting, cultural and media events to be hosted in Oman for 1-3 years ahead. Coordinating bidding work, lobbying with sport diplomats, media people, organizing fam trips for decision makers is all part of their daily work.

They must be thinking along the lines of sporting events that have wide international exposure and at the same time Oman lends itself for them, such as Sailing, Rally, Golf, Cycling, Mountain Biking etc.  I can be confident that the experience of hosting the 2010 Asian Beach Games is used as a momentum.

In terms of cultural events they surely work closely with the ROH programming team and focus on widening the reach beyond Muscat Festival’s traditional base and the Opera season.

They think of media productions like movies shots, treasure hunt shows (like the US one Oman hosted some years ago), extreme sport reality shows, documentaries (sea life, diving, historic etc.). The press treasure hunt launched in Jan 2012 is a good initiative. 

They conceptualize viral initiatives using social media. Who does not remember posting for the best job in the world of Tourism Queensland calling for an island administrator with not too much work on pristine Australian tropical beaches? I am sure with a bit of brainstorming a number of comparable but not copycat ideas can be generated buy our team and perhaps involving a few external people.

(On the movie note: take for instance the recent 'Salmon Fishing in the Yemen' movie with Ewan McGregor and Emily Blunt.  It ended up being a great promotion for Yemen. The paradox was that due to the instability in Yemen the movie was shot not in Oman but, guess where...in Morocco.)

So coming back to our small team, since all of this is successfully happening, the tourism decision makers are concerned on increasing the capacity and output of this team to aim for more creative and innovative promotion of the country and bigger tourism impact. But what if I am wrong?

ROH: Enter the World of Music

In order to create a sustainable long lasting musical foundation for Oman, the ROH has to take a leading role. No doubt that the flagship cultural institution of the country can have a huge impact on the musical education of the nation. And I am not only thinking about kids friendly production (like the recent Cinderella), but to a whole different approach of introducing kids to classical music, musicals and opera. It has to prove that ROH is there to teach as well, and is available for everybody open to music.

• Musical summer camps – for kids of different age groups where they are presented with different genres, trying instruments, learn about an orchestra and prepare a little performance to end the camp with.
• Music mornings – 1 hour sessions for schools presenting instruments, or showing how movie and cartoon music is written, how singers warm up, practice and perform, what back of the stage world means etc.
• Classical remix of known pop and rock pieces – showing how familiar mainstream tunes can have charm and dynamism if remixed even for a small orchestra etc.

These are all ideas that bring down the perception of music being an elitist thing that most have no access to or genuine interest in, and show that opera is not a mere social promenade or status exhibit. An interesting example is the Educational Program of  the Sydney Opera House. With a little bit of planning and organizing work these programs can also have a huge promotion value not only for ROH but also for Muscat.

The Royal Opera House needs to be much more than just an opera house. It has to lead these efforts of introducing people of Oman, especially youth, to the wonderful world of music.

Space for sports

Sports can have a huge impact on the sustainable quality of life. With so much available land in Muscat and few sporting opportunities, the creative entrepreneurial mind could go wild in coming up with viable small business ideas that adds sporting and entertainment options and enhance attractiveness of the city. Here are a few generic ideas:

1. 5-aside artificial turf pitches – There are already a few available, that are literally packed most of the evenings, when weather is suitable for play. Flood lighting and eventually covering them with a suitable canvas extends the usage. With several suitable locations a championship like the Powerleague in UK could constitute not just great entertainment but also a recruitment ground for the professional sport. There is hardly anybody in this country who does not love football and there is a whole lot more to capitalize on this.

2. Go kart tracks – for small kids, youngsters and adults.  Who would not love to test its driving abilities.  Why not do it risk free and in safe conditions. An extra feature could be the provision of driving skill improvement classes, on hard top, gravel and sand. Example...

3. Cricket park – small size pitches and basic service facilities would contain ad-hock paying in uncomfortable and sometimes risky locations.

4. Water ride center – as part of a marina, a short rowing track combined with skillful kayaking track or even a small motor boating hurdle track to test abilities against the clock.  Bumper boats can increase the thrill and water bikes can further ad to the all ages character of the attraction. For the most adventures a coastal kayaking water trails can be added with various stop overs.

5. Playgrounds and adventure parks – there is not better age to start exercise than childhood. Such adventure parks besides providing great fun, challenges the kids mentally and improves their coordination. Due to lack of trees in Muscat probably the best solution would be a semi indoor version, or replacing trees with poles and shades.

These off-the-bat ideas can be significantly improved adding on details and further elements.  Most of these have traction with locals and improve the love for sports. As beneficial side effects are forming personalities that have improved endurance, dedication, commitment and consistency in anything they do. These are traits that can do a lot of good for this country.

Boot-camps for C-level executives?

Incentive travel is the invention of the modern corporate world.  It’s only a few decades old. Initially its main aim was to reward employees for achieving certain business objectives and was conceived like a mere pleasure ride in nice destinations. Only recently with the development of HR disciplines has been flavored with personal development elements: trainings, skills test, business simulations, role plays, personality tests etc.

The seas, mountains, dunes and wadis of Oman, clearly lend the country for adventure type inventive trips, and taking into account its upscale resort offering, even to pure laid back luxury trips. However, what could possible position Oman on a very high competitive spot in the incentive travel market is a concept built on a holistic approach to executive personal development.

The sole goal of such a trip would be to enable participates to become better, more successful leaders, while becoming healthier and happier. Beside classic components of executive development like in-depth personal assessment, coaching, originality in leadership, a range of other subjects should also be addressed like nutrition, fitness, health risk and last but not least memorable spa experiences, outdoor challenges like sailing, wadi bashing, off road driving, orientation etc.  Participants should be able to characterize a successful trip with the likes of: "I know more about myself than 10 days ago", "I feel healthier than 10 days ago", "Now I know how to stay away from unnecessary stress", "This should be on the to do list of most executives", "I feel this made me a better leader".

A combination of individual and team exercises, physical and mental activities, competitive and introspective exercises as well as spa treatments and culinary experiences should be considered.  All performed under the guidance of personal coaches, activity instructors (sailing, driving, climbing etc.), psychologists, graphologists, nutritionists, yoga (holistic health) instructors and doctors.

Sounds like an expensive package I know. Maybe it has to have a 5 days version as well. But with some fine tuning and detailing, such a retreat concept could be developed into a world class offering, and with a bit of smart marketing can become a unique attraction for Oman as well as a successful business.

Omanventure

Take domestic tourism seriously. Any country that is hoping on significant GDP contribution of tourism should take this advise. In the challenging quest of attracting international visitors and banking on their spending inflow, it is easy to forget about the potential of domestic demand. This segment might not be as valuable in terms of current account contribution but it is crucial in terms of stability and sustainability of the tourism of a country. We have seen what a 9/11 or a SARS-like crisis can do for destinations relying only on international travellers (typically remote or island destinations). Those who had a solid domestic demand (e.g. Germany, France) managed to live through these much easier.

So Oman should not forget about its few hundred thousand of regular regional travelers and should perhaps focus on extracting value by offering ever more experience. There are several ways of doing this but one that recently came to my mind is the creation of a domestic tourism program, say "Omanventure".

The idea would be to set up a high number of domestic trips (from Salala and the Empty Quarter all the way up to Musandam) grouped, categorized and described in a cool website and booklet.  Each category of trip would have more concrete routes described, graded and ranked.  We could have a "wadi wanderer" a "wild off-roader" or a "family off-roader" a "nomad camper" category with 5-8 trips under each. So far not much special, quite a few books have already done this.

The essence of this program would be to actually take the whole thing online, associate a tick-list to all of these trips and to record the fact that one has done it. An online point and status system can be created (can eventually run under facebook or own site depending on resources).  Each set of trips can have a minimum of 5-6 routes to complete before you can earn that particular status of say a "coastal cruiser" or if you have a boat you can potentially become a "sealife spotter" etc.  Of course all of this can also apply to divers and come up with say “shark whisperer” or other.

Reporting completion can be done like in geotracking or on birder (bird watching) sites, namely on a self declared basis.  If someone have completed all of the given types and track can claim the "Omanventurer" status. Time limits of retaining this can also be set. etc. etc. It would also be a good way for tourism planners to track the popularity of domestic destinations and enhance the thematic nature of regions and attractions. 

Now besides the fun where's the deal? I sense in a few points, like certain regions can start promoting themselves on this platform, can set up little gift shops, coffee shop with name of track, eventually small visitor centre and benefit from the fact that those coming to their village region would most likely check this site before.

I have not fully elaborated on the idea but I feel there could be quite some potential in this. Retailers, car maker etc. can all hook up to the opportunity and created domestic marketing for the great regions of Oman. What do you think?

4x4 park = fun + benefit

Oman just simply lends itself for adventure and active tourism.  One can work on positioning the country as anything more than that but one thing for sure, Oman is just the best place to put your tracking boots at work, pull on your main sail, or try out your latest nature photography gear. And why not show your current and future customers what your new 4x4 model is capable of doing.

Being fairly accessible from two major car markets of the region UAE and Saudi and offering a nice mix for a a fun 2-day getaway, I think any of the major off road manufacturer could hugely benefit from setting up a high quality 4x4 fun part somewhere outside of Muscat.

Izuzu has such a great 4x4 park in Pattaya, Thailand and besides being a state of the art test track offers great attraction for tourism and local alike.

So if it's not obvious than here are a few arguments:

Why Oman:

• It is perceived (and it is) as the best off road destination in GCC
• Proximity to major 4xa and awd car markets
• So many perfect sites for such a park in proximity of Muscat

Advantages:

• Great complementary offering for the tourism attractions of the country
• Bodes well with the incentive tourism destination image (especially with the efforts of the ministry to promote Oman as a conference and incentive tourism destination)
• Local population love off road cars and driving, there would be a solid local demand to sustain the facility
• A major marketing boost for the brand(s) that will take the initiative and implement the idea
• Perfect opportunity for job creation (driving instructors, maintenance and admin people, booking and back office people)

So, Toyota-Lexus, Nissan-Infinity, Mitsubisi-Jeep, or Land Rover who is going to take the first call.  I think is fair to assume that the tourism authorities would be gland to hear about such an initiative.