OmanTripper was originally launched as blog back in 2012 by Ali Mohammadi, together with one of his friends. Although a chemical engineer by training, with degrees from the University of Canterbury and the University of Cambridge, and working a full-time job, Ali has always been passionate about traveling and showcasing the beauty of Oman to its visitors, as well as helping them explore Oman on their own.
As a result, he has always tried to make time for trips every two weekends if possible, documenting his trips on the blog. Taking this into account, coupled with the fact that he is also a licensed tour-guide in Oman and an avid photographer, no doubt contributed towards the continued success of the blog, which quickly gained traction and just prior to the pandemic was drawing in well over 10k visitors per month.
Wishing to take the blog to the next step, in order to further help visitors as well as better support the tourism sector locally, Ali recently transformed OmanTripper from just a blog to a full-fledged travel and tour services organisation, one that aspires to be the ‘one-stop-shop’ for travellers wishing to explore the country. While continuing to document his trips on the site, Ali now also offers visitors a rewarding and authentic travel experience to Oman through the platform, combining ventures to Oman’s hidden gems and giving them a taste of its rich heritage and generous hospitality.
We caught up with Ali earlier this month to learn of the story behind the blog and its transformation, as well as some valuable advice for travellers visiting Oman. Here are some excerpts from the interview:
How many years have you been travelling Oman and the globe and what got you hooked to it?
Funny enough, like many Muscat-kids from my generation, I never properly explored the beauty of Oman until my return home from abroad back in 2011. Only then did I really start attempting to visit, discover, and document some of the beautiful places in Oman. Exploring Oman helped spur my interest in photography, nature, and hiking all of which made me also want to travel abroad in search of more experiences.
How did you get started as a blogger and what was your reasoning behind focusing on Oman specifically, unlike other travel bloggers who usually travel the world?
I started OmanTripper with a friend back in 2012, with the objective of documenting and giving information about places worth visiting in Oman. Back then, in the ‘early’ days of social media, information on even well-known tourist attractions were not readily available, especially online. So, we wanted to help people, be it locals like us or visitors from overseas, find information provided in an objective platform with description of the place, opening hours (for forts, mosques, etc.), photos, and pins on Google Maps link. This is the blog aspect of OmanTripper, which I am very much still doing eight years on, even though we are now also focusing on OmanTripper as a platform offering the best travel & tour services in Oman.
I focus on Oman because there is just so much to cover (I have over a dozen draft articles yet to be published for example), and I don’t really consider myself a travel blogger! I do have aspirations on documenting my overseas travels and experiences in some form or another, but my limited time makes that impossible at the moment.
Both as a tour guide and for your own trips, what are some personal rules that you always abide by to ensure all your trips go smoothly?
I give great attention to details, so my rules are reflective of this and it has served me right so far, I can mention the following:
- Understand: know what the visitor wants before the trip
- Communicate: Be transparent and inform visitors both before and during the trip of what to expect, timings, stops, etc.
- Plan: Know your itinerary and the location you are taking the visitors to well; you are the expert here and you have to show it. I scout locations in advance if I feel like I am rusty or haven’t visited them in a while before taking someone on a tour. I did that even for the Jabal Shams peak trek (which is quite hard) prior to a trip I had booked just to ensure I am ready.
The tourism sector has no doubt been hit hard by the current pandemic. What, in your opinion, does 2021 hold in store for the industry?
I am optimistic for 2021 and think that once we have some semblance of normalcy back, many people will be traveling to compensate for all the time spent in lockdown or quarantine… so let us hope for a great 2021!
The effects of the pandemic aside, why do you think tourists’ attitudes have changed towards Oman as a tourist destination and what has been the largest contributing factor towards its increase in popularity?
I believe a big part of it has to do with the authenticity of the travel experience to Oman – visitors appreciate how we don’t have locals pushing tourists to buy things or pay for tours constantly. It still feels you are exploring a less-traversed country where everyone is kind, where many locals are more than willing to stop and give you directions, chit-chat, or even invite you for coffee at their home.
You had mentioned earlier that you decided to transform your blog OmanTripper into a “platform” to better support the tourism sector, what plans do you have in store for achieving this?
I believe the blog has already been a factor in supporting the sector. We are currently getting 7 – 8k visitors a month and it was well over 10k a month prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. These are people looking to find information about places in Oman. Our focus now is to help these visitors also find and easily book unique and exciting tour offerings through our platform.
What are your top recommendations for someone travelling to Oman and why? Also, what in your opinion, are the best locations to visit if you are travelling solo?
I have three recommendations for someone travelling to Oman:
- Rent a car (preferably a 4WD), because we have great roads and it gives you full-flexibility on where to go
- Make an outline of a plan, rather than a detailed hour-by-hour one. This allows you the flexibility to go off the beaten path as you proceed
- And of course, follow OmanTripper channels for amazing coverage and tips.
I would say that you could easily cover many of the amazing locations in Oman, solo or not – if I was to list a few I would say:
- Drive to Dakhiliyah and explore Nizwa, Al Hamra, and hike at Jabal Shams
- Do a wadi trip. As a solo trip, it’s probably best to visit a “known” wadi such as Wadi Shab or Bani Khaled.
- Drive along the beautiful Muscat Coastal road!
You can find out more about OmanTripper and their services, together with information on some great places to visit in Oman, by visiting www.OmanTripper.com.