The Oman Ministry of Tourism has won at the first-ever Arab Strategic Web Awards (ASWA) 2014 bestowed by the Pan Arab Web Awards (PAWA) Academy in recognition of excellence in web design, development and web ownership skills in the Arab region, the Ministry announced in a statement, adding that it received the prestigious honor under the ‘Governmental Organization’ in Oman category of the competition for its highly interactive and innovative official website, www.omantourism.gov.om.

The winners were officially announced during the ASWA 2014 Grand Finale Ceremony held on September 29, 2014 at the Al Murooj Rotana Hotel in Dubai, the UAE.

Representing the ministry during the event were Helal Ghalib Al Hinai, Director General for Planning & Follow-up & Information; Ali Marhoon Al Mamari, International Co-operations Department; Khalifa Abdullah Al Athali, Head of Information Technology; and Fakhriya Said Al Zadjali, Head of E-Tourism Web.

Commenting on the award, Salem Al Mamari, Director General of Tourism Promotions at Oman Ministry of Tourism, said: “We would like to extend our gratitude to the Pan Arab Excellence Awards Academy for recognizing our efforts to provide a highly interactive and unique website that caters to the needs of our visitors from all over the world. The award reflects our success in creatively integrating technological innovations and advanced, modern tools into our operations in line with our commitment to provide world-class services at local, regional and global levels. Our latest win has inspired us to push ourselves further especially in terms of web creativity and innovation in hopes of providing an excellent and an enhanced experience to our visitors.”