Oman announces free multi-trip visa for Hayya card holders

During a press conference held at Oman Convention and Exhibition Center, the Undersecretary of the Omani Ministry of Heritage and Tourism Azzan bin Qasim al-Busaidi stressed the interest of the government of Oman in supporting Qatar's efforts to successfully host the tournament through many areas of co-operation, pointing to the objectives of the joint programme to support Qatar's efforts in the success of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, celebrating the historic hosting of the tournament in the region, promoting Muscat as an accredited city to receive the fans of the World Cup, and to provide an easy and exceptional experience for fans coming to Oman.He also reviewed the main components of the programme, which includes the World Cup fan visa to enter Oman (Hayya card holders), a programme for daily flights between Muscat and Doha, airport facilities and transportation, hotels and tourist packages, events and activities along with accompanying promotional campaigns.The Deputy Director General, Marketing, Communications and Event Experience at the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy Khalid al-Mawlawi stressed that Qatar was keen to co-operate and form wide global and regional partnerships for this purpose, including the programme of hosting cities for fans that have been announced, including the city of Muscat.Al-Mawlawi praised the co-operation and initiative of Oman, confirming that the efforts exerted in the Sultanate's programme accompanying the World Cup exceeded expectations and are appreciated by Qatar.The Executive Director of the Hayya platform Saeed Ali al-Kuwari also gave a brief presentation on the official platform concerned with managing the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 fan card and the facilities it provides to World Cup fans who will flock to watch the matches, according to organised and accessible mechanisms for everyone.The Director of Administrative and Financial Affairs at the Directorate General of Passports and Civil Status, representative of the Royal Omani Police Lt Colonel Ahmed bin Saeed al-Ghafri reviewed in a speech during the conference the advantages of the World Cup fans' visa to enter Oman (Hayya card holders), which is summarised as a free multi-trip visa, enhanced with the advantage of extraction upon arrival and a validity period of up to 60 days. The holder of the Hayya card is also allowed to bring his first-degree family to enjoy a stay in Oman, adding that the holder of the Hayya card is also allowed to change to a visa of another during his presence in Oman, in accordance with the established requirements.During the press conference, Senior Manager of Gov. Relations at Oman Air Dr Khalid bin Abdulwahab al-Balushi spoke about the daily flights for World Cup fans between Doha and Muscat, and emphasised that Oman Air will operate several flights between the two cities during the World Cup period from November 20 to December 3, 2022, believing in the importance of this global event. Fans will be able to book one-day flights directly through the official website of Oman Air at prices starting from OMR99 for economy class and OMR305 for business class, and to encourage citizens, special prices have been provided for them starting from OMR49 for economy class and OMR155 for business class. He stressed that the Oman airline's team at Doha International Airport will pay great attention to ensuring the smoothness of fans' flights as well as on arrival and departure between Muscat and Doha, which comes as part of Oman Air's ongoing efforts to provide services that meet the expectations of its guests as a premium airline.Oman Airports' Deputy CEO Saud bin Nasser al-Habaishi also explained the preparation plan at the Muscat International Airport to facilitate the movement of fans at the airport on special routes, for both departure and arrival flights, through the identification of gates dedicated for aircrafts carrying fans of the World Cup. In addition, dedicated ports will verify the fans, with dedicated customs inspection devices, with the presence of an integrated crew from the customer service team to guide travellers through the dedicated routes. In addition, preparations are underway with partners to secure a specific transport plan to accommodate the flow of fans to and from the airport according to the dedicated parking for public transport buses.The General Manager of the National Travel Operator (Visit Oman) and representative of Oman group Shabib bin Mohamed al-Maamari reviewed the plans of the joint programme in the sector through hotel programmes and tourist packages, and indicated that the tourism products offered in the Sultanate in general exceed 20,000 hotel rooms and more than 200 tourist products through more than 35 local operators and 10 land carriers, including partnership with 52 airlines around the world.He also revealed the accompanying events and activities, most notably the holding of a festival for World Cup fans in the park of the Oman Convention and Exhibition Center on an area of more than 9,000 square metres in order to provide a festive atmosphere for FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 fans coming to Oman to attend the tournament, as well as for fans from inside Oman, citizens and residents.The festival will provide a variety of packages of events during the World Cup period in co-operation with specialised international companies, with more details to be announced in the coming days.