Oman among top 10 countries to visit in 2017

Muscat: Lonely Planet, a global travel guide, has listed Oman in 8th place in the top 10 countries to visit in 2017.
“Oman has been the ace in Arabia’s pack for a while, but with more flights than ever before and high-end hotels popping up all over the place, the Sultanate looks ready to raise its game yet again,” the travel guide says.
The guide also adds that luxury accommodation, including the award-winning duo of Six Senses on the Musandam Peninsula and Alila in the Hajar Mountains, has long had a foothold here, but glitzy properties from Anantara, Kempinski and other high-end names are also slated to open soon.
It also adds that the burst of construction doesn’t stop there, though – the US $120-million Majarat Oman, a futuristic theme park for families, is set to debut in 2017.
While Canada secured the first position in the Lonely Planet list, Ethiopia was ranked 10th.
A recent survey in the region also had ranked Oman second among GCC nations in tourists having positive guest experiences.
The survey of nine Arab countries, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Lebanon and Oman, conducted by real estate company Colliers International, saw the Sultanate score a Guest Experience Index of 80.