OMAN TO FOCUS ON DIGITAL MARKETING
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The biggest evolution witnessed by the tourism industry over the last few decades has been the role of Internet. According to the UNWTO, about 90 per cent of all travel decisions are made online. The web no longer plays a passive role but is almost as influential as family/friends in the choice of a destination for vacation. Hence, it becomes vital for any tourism board to plan and execute an effective digital marketing strategy.
In keeping with this new trend, Oman Tourism has decided to use online marketing as one of the tools to attract tourists from India. To increase destination presence on the web, Oman tourism has chalked out a few campaigns that will be directed towards internet users. Lubaina Sheerazi, India Representative, Ministry of Tourism, Oman opined, “The world is rapidly shifting from analogue to digital. Today, search engine results and online videos are increasingly inspiring and influencing traveler’s choices. The web has come of age allowing us to have more targeted communications with increased measurability. The web also gives us access to special interest groups and markets where we have no physical presence otherwise.”
One of the campaigns includes a tie-up with the blogging community on Indiblogger. Oman Tourism is running a month long contest to attract bloggers to write about what they would like to experience in Oman and 3 bloggers will get a chance to win a trip to Oman. The winners will be chosen on the basis of their research and creativity. Sheerazi further added, “This is the first time Oman has tried to directly connect with the rapidly increasing blogging community in India. We chose bloggers because they have very high credibility, lot of followers and trust among their readers making them the most influential community in the online space.”
"International travel amongst Indians is on the rise and with travel being one of the hottest topics for bloggers on IndiBlogger, Oman Tourism is welcoming bloggers to participate in mapping out their dream tour of the beautiful country Oman. We hope this campaign will not only benefit Oman Tourism in promoting it as a tourist destination but also create excitement, understanding and awareness about Oman and all that it has to offer amongst the growing outbound tourist population from India,” said Anoop Johnson, Director of Marketing, IndiBlogger.in
Since Oman is a picturesque destination, Oman Tourism India Instagram handle was created in May, 2014 so that users can share the beautiful images they click in Oman. “Besides this, online advertising is also a medium that we will be aggressively exploring in the second quarter of 2014” added Sheerazi.