Running Head: ANALYSIS 1
ANALYSIS 7
Analysis
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Objective 1: To determine the interest in Geo-tourism among tourists in the Sultanate of Oman
Geo-tourism in the Sultanate of Oman has proven to be very beneficial to the nation’s government. The high level of interest in geo-tourism is evident in the Sultanate of Oman. According to the study, the majority of respondents mentioned that they were working in geology in various aspects while some mentioned that they were regular tourists. 30 per cent of the respondents were academics in earth science. In addition, there were no historians in the group of respondents. Tourism growth in the area is as a result of several decisive factors (Christenson & Ashland, 2007). Tourists from German, French and British origin have all collectively developed a considerable interest to geo-tourism in Sultanate of Oman. For instance, according to the study, 33% were of German origin, 10% from Britain, 30% from Omani and 13% of French origin. Various tourists for different European nations participated in the study.
According to a study, there were different tourists of different nationalities from ages 18 to 46. The male respondents recorded 80% while the female ones were only 20%. Most of the respondents were 46 years and above. Thirty-two percent of the tourists who took part in the study indicated that they were attracted to the Sultanate of Oman due to advertisements for geo-sites in Oman. These advertisements were either from social media, websites, conferences or exhibitions with 15 (50%) respondents indicating that they heard about the geo-tourist destination through conferences or from their learning institutions. On the other hand, only 5 respondents (16.67 %) heard this through social media. 20% of the respondents heard about Oman directly from websites and approximately 12% from other sources. This illustrates that advertisements play a crucial role in the development of geo-tourism not only in the Sultanate of Oman but also in international tourism as well. Popular destinations make use of advertising to keep such tourists both fascinated and interested in geo-tourism. This, therefore, encourages repeat trips to the country. Sometimes this involves building on existing campaigns.
Furthermore, when the respondents were asked why they chose to be geo tourists in Oman, the respondents were ask to choose the available reasons which leaded them to select Oman. Most of them mentioned that they selected Oman as their destination because of the exclusive geological history that Oman possesses such as Ophiloite. 23% of the respondents said that Oman contains readily available and well-exposed projection. With these 30 respondents, the study was able to realize that 36% of the tourists who participated were there for geo-tourism purposes only while a majority of 64% mentioned that geo-tourism was their main reason behind their travelling.
Besides, according to Morgan and ? Pritchard, 2013, one of the greatest challenges for the promotion of tourism is declining interest of tourists in visiting certain areas. The Sultanate of Oman geo-tourism advertising program is both diverse and thriving to spread to many nations in the world and promote interest. However, there are negative factors that go against geo-tourism in Sultanate of Oman. According to the study, 44% of respondents argued that the main factor that discouraged them from visiting the nation was the ambiguity of information related to geo-tourism in the area (Author, 2015). Even as most of the advertising programs are successful, others are indefinite and lack purposeful meaning thereby negatively affecting geo-tourism in the Sultanate of Oman.
Another factor that encourages tourists to select the Sultanate of Oman as their designated tourist destination is the expert tour operation services and guide in the geological field with the intention of developing the interest of geo-tourists (Author, 2015). In line with the study, this factor was mentioned by 34% of the respondents. However, 39% of the respondents mentioned that the cost of traveling to the popular Middle Eastern tourist destination was high travel fares and accommodation. High costs of flying are a major discouraging factor to geo-tourism in the Sultanate of Oman (Burek & Prosser, 2008). High costs recorded a high percentage with 39% respondents in the study indicating that cost reduced their interest for travelling to Oman. 17% of the respondents talked of other reasons that have not been mentioned. There are many factors that discourage tourism. However, high travel costs are one of the major reasons that negatively impact geo-tourism. In agreement with Leslie, 2014 cost is the key feature influencing the industry.
Objective 2: To identify the factors that motivates tourists to select Oman as Geo-tourism destination.
Leslie mentions that both domestic and international travel has turned out to be increasingly limited even as visa fees, and travel prices go up. As a result, the casual tourist may make a decision on staying in their home country or visit another tourist destination rather than traveling to see the beautiful golden deserts of Oman when travel fees are on the increase (Morgan & Pritchard, 2000). Even as the gas prices in the Middle East rise, the cost of flights rises as well, thereby negatively affecting geo-tourism in the area. Furthermore, it is worth mentioning that global travel and geo-tourism may be negatively influenced by elevated inflation rates and reduced exchange rates. According to the above study, respondents were asked if they deemed Oman a cost-effective tourist destination. A surprisingly 28% did not approve of Oman’s cost of geo-tourism (Author, 2015). On the other hand, only 12% mentioned that the nation is a cost-effective tourist destination. 62% said that they would visit Oman once again while 38% mentioned that they would not (Author, 2015).
Also, most tourists visit the nation’s geo-sites during the beginning of the year. For instance, 48% of tourists visit from January to March making this the peak period. The varieties of hotels in the Sultanate of Oman can accommodate all the tourists in the region with various geo-tourism activities. After the tourists leave in March, geo-tourism is at its lowest from March all the way to June with only 2% of tourists visiting the geo-sites. The majority of the tourists (76%) are satisfied with their visit after they return to their homelands (Author, 2015). After the study, a majority (76%) of tourists mentioned that their visit to Oman met their expectations while the remaining 24% said that their expectations were not fully met. In addition, a correlation that relates the expectations of geo-tourists and their interest in Oman geo-tourism recorded an increase of 22% (Author, 2015).
In conclusion, geo–tourism in Oman is still young and has a lot of room for improvement. The government is required to carry out more activities to advance geo-sites through public education, specialized training, and advertisements. This is because this would persuade more geo-tourists from Europe, Australia, the West and other parts of the world choose Oman as their favorite tourist destination. The issue of heightened travel fees and political instability should be considered as well.
References
Morgan, N., & Pritchard, A. (2000). Advertising in tourism and leisure. Routledge.
Leslie, D. (2015). Tourism enterprise: Developments, management and sustainability.
Burek, C., & Prosser, C. (2008). The history of geoconservation. London: Geological Society. P 28 Available online accessed on December 18
Christenson, G., & Ashland, F. (2007). A plan to reduce losses from geologic hazards in Utah. Salt Lake City, Utah: Governor’s Geologic Hazards Working Group. p 1available online accessed on December 18
