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S U N DAY, S E P T E M B E R 1 8, 2 0 1 6 The number of visitors over Eid was staggering, and just goes to show how excited people are about Oman’s natural wonders and finding out what’s new at the cave Eng. Khalid Mirza, Director of Projects Development at Omran
OMAN
High turnout during Eid at Al Hoota Cave In view of the huge interest in the cave, it remained open for an additional three hours per day in order to accommodate the visitors
Staff Reporter MUSCAT: Almost 13,000 people visited Al Hoota Cave during the Eid Al Adha holiday, Omran, the operator of the cave complex, said. “Thousands of visitors flocked to Al Hoota Cave following its recent reopening. Over the Eid Al Adha holiday, above 12,700 people visited one of the region’s leading natural attractions to enjoy the cave experience and its enhanced facilities. The high turnout of visitors reinforces the interest in Oman’s natural wonders, and that local and regional tourism in Oman is on the increase,” the tourism investment body said. The mix of visitors included Omani tourists as well as people from the GCC including Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Anticipating a large turnout, Omran and the on-site team operating the cave made the decision to open on Arafah day and
NATURAL WONDER: The visitors included Omani tourists as well
as people from the GCC including Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
the first day of Eid to accommodate visitors who made the trip in order to rediscover the wonders of the cave. Marking the huge interest in the cave, it remained open an additional three hours per day in order to accommodate the large amount of visitors. The staff were eager to accommodate all guests, which illustrates their will to go above and beyond to be able to cater to the crowd. “We’ve transformed the offering at Al Hoota Cave, making it a completely new experience for visitors. The number of visitors over Eid was staggering, and just goes to show how excited people are about Oman’s natural wonders and finding out what’s new
at the cave. The feedback from visitors was fantastic, and we’re extremely pleased to have exceeded people’s expectations,” Eng. Khalid Mirza, Director of Projects Development at Omran, said. “We even made the decision to keep the cave open for an extra three hours every day so no one missed out – the team wanted every visitor to have the best experience and they went above and beyond to make this happen,” he added. One of the visitors to Al Hoota Cave during Eid Al Adha was week was Sudir Balachandran who said that the cave officials were very supportive, cooperative and efficient in managing the entire crowd. “There were good arrange-
ments at the restaurant with a variety of good food and very friendly and cheerful staff at the gift shop. I have visited many caves but the way Al Hoota has been maintained and the way nature has created it makes it a place one must certainly visit. Many thanks to the entire staff at Al Hoota Cave,” Sudir added. Local SMEs have been instrumental in the revamped Al Hoota experience. Eng. Khalid said. “We’ve leased many of the businesses on-site to local SMEs to operate them on our behalf. The restaurant and the gift shop for instance are run by a local company. This provides something completely authentic that you simply don’t find at other attractions, which are usually supported by generic fast food outlets. Omran is committed to engaging local SMEs in its developments, so we build Oman’s infrastructure together and empower local entrepreneurs,” Eng Khalid said. As part of this dedication to involving the local SME community, Omran will partner with any local SMEs who own rest houses in the area surrounding Al Hoota cave to promote the cave to visitors in the area and allowing them to obtain a complete cultural experience during their stay. This agreement has led to a local SME operating Al Hoota Cave’s restaurant. The local family business owns and runs a rest area at the nearby village called Misfat Al Abriyeen, so was an ideal choice to forge a partnership with to enhance the Al Hoota experience for visitors.
TOUR
INSPECTION: Dr. Salim bin Saleem Al Jenaibi, chairman of Trans-
port and Logistics Committee at Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry. – ONA
New Muscat airport to boost air traffic MUSCAT: Muscat International Airport, which is scheduled to open during 2017, would give a fillip to the air transport network in the Sultanate, said Dr. Salim bin Saleem Al Jenaibi, chairman of Transport and Logistics Committee at Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Saturday.
Dr. Salim and members of the committee visited the construction site of Muscat airport, comprising the passengers building (under construction) covering an area of 580 000 sq. metres. During the visit, the visiting members were familiarised with the 15 packages of Muscat airport. —ONA
DROWNING RISK
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A1 People defy advice “Not supervising children when they swim, not following advisories and guidelines and crossing the wadis without considering the strength of the current are among the causes of drowning,” PACDA has said in the past. People helping a drowning person could sometimes even lead to more risk. People go to pools and valleys to enjoy themselves but some, whether young or adult, have no idea how to swim According to PACDA statistics,
113 recorded cases of drowning occurred in 2015, down from 150 in 2014 and 292 in 2013. PACDA said not knowing swimming or swimming in areas not designated for it were the causes of drowning. PACDA’s annual statistics reveal that 55 rescue operations were carried out in wadis, 26 in seas, two at pools, two in swamps and 11 at wells, two at dams and seven where waste water had accumulated.
HIRING ISSUES
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A1 ‘Females barred in some sectors for safety’ “For example, in the construction industry or a store by the street, a female is not required because the store is on a street or the construction company has more males working in it, so why do they need a female? “However when it comes to working in big stores or big companies, females are allowed. We previously had some cases where this privilege was abused so we had to revoke that and regulate the female expat clearances to make sure we protect the females,” he added. He added: “The rule is the same, a female is allowed as usual. We have not closed, only they are just protected in some professions not suitable for the ladies. “Evaluate, you have 2,000 males in your construction company - why you want one female? “It’s not banned but it is regulated because it needs to protect, because there are some cases of abuse. We deal with every case in a different way and see the size and requirement of the company. It is open not closed, people think it is closed, we are regulating for
protection of women.” Recruitment specialists in Oman say their experience is somewhat different. “It is extremely difficult for a female to obtain a visa. Companies that already have a visa for a female are able to re-use them if someone leaves and if there is a match of job/qualifications but obtaining a new visa seems to be almost impossible. “We have large number of qualified and experienced expat females contacting us for work, however, we have not been able to place a female expat for many months now as clients do not have the visas to be able to employ them,” said Tonia Gray from Competence HR. Laila, (name changed) a female expat from India, says that her employer has not promised her a visa but has given her a job. She works at a small company in Muscat. “I work at this insurance company where my boss has said that I won’t get a visa or even if they plan on giving me a visa, it will take a while. I am not sure of the actual reason but from what I know is PILGRIMAGE
that employers have trouble in getting female clearances. I have heard from many of my friends that they were having troubles with getting work clearances, it’s quite common.” Sometimes females who apply to work in bigger companies also have to suffer due to the regulations. Another female expat from Bangladesh who just got her visa after a long struggle said, “So I graduated as an architect and yes, I did manage to get a visa as an architect, but after an entire year. “At my current workplace, it took about a year. Initially, we got the clearance quite easily but when the PRO went to collect the papers, the officials told him that they had lost the paper. You can imagine our frustration and we were asked to reapply, which we did and then we had a very long waiting period. “Meanwhile, we were also delayed due to the Omanisation ratio and because of renewing of official documents. Then we decided to reuse one of the old clearances that we had for a previous em-
ployer who left the office. We had already paid for that clearance, but after we made the request to transfer it to my name, we had to pay again. Once all of that paperwork was done, it was easier. “However, there is no clear information about the processes about changing from family to employment visa. “Our PRO asked me to cancel my visa, but the airport officials told me that I don’t need to cancel the visa. So I exited the country once without cancelling the visa but that didn’t work. “Then I had to fly back and cancel my visa again, which was difficult because the airport officials were double minded but we finally convinced them after showing that I had already exited once without cancelling the visa and it had not worked.” An HR official from one company in Muscat said,“The clearances for the females are open but sometimes very difficult to get. At times it’s because of the company’s Omanisation ratio which needs to be balanced, so that also contributes to the time taken.”
ACQUIRING DEGREES
Beware of distance education scams SYED HAITHAM HASAN
haitham@timesofoman.com
Omani Haj mission returns MUSCAT: Omani Haj Mission returned, yesterday, to the Sultanate from Saudi Arabia after performing their mission at the sacred lands. Sheikh Nasser bin Yousef Al Azri, chaired the Omani Haj Mission for the year. The mission comprised a delegation for Ifta and religious guidance; the administrative and financial delegation, the supervisory delegation, the medical delegation and a delegation from Royal Oman Police. On their arrival at Muscat International Airport, the members of the mission were received by Dr. Kahlan bin Nabhan Al Kharousi, assistant to His Eminence the Sultanate’s Grand Mufti and a number of officials at the Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs. —ONA
MUSCAT: Residents in Oman need to be careful while applying to universities abroad as it may turn out to be a waste of time and valuable resources. The idea of securing lucrative degrees, cheaper costs, the prospect of promotions in jobs and studying while working have led to a large number of people considering distance education. However, several university programmes offering distance learning are not recognised by their own respective educational commissions, therefore a degree from such universities is deemed unusable leaving the candidate’s future in jeopardy. Under scrutiny Recently, a university from India offering distance education in Oman came under scrutiny by the Indian government as it was not authorised to provide services beyond the border of the state in which it is located in India.
After settling of court cases in India, the student received a degree from the central government. However, he was unable to pursue further education in many Indian colleges. Anthony, a student who received a Bachelor’s degree from the university, has been unable to pursue higher education due the degree not being recognised by other institutions. He said he had been unable to continue studying because of this reason. The university under the scanner is a favourite higher educational institute for many students in Oman and some, who have secured a degree from that institution said even though it was always under scrutiny they received their degree certificates, which were approved by the central government of India. So far so good Anjum, the topper of his class, said that their batch received their degree certificates late due to a court case, but hasn’t had any problems with the degree yet.