MOMENTS

in WATER

Nature

22 March 3, 2016

About 18 km off the Batinah Coast, the Daymaniyat Islands are a sanctuary for

migrating birds and are Oman's only protected marine area, directly under the supervision of

the Ministry of Environment since 1996

“Wow! Whale sharks, whale sharks,” Adrienne and Dominique simultaneously shouted at the top of their lungs. In fact, who can contain the mad excitement of sighting the shy and rare whale sharks? But Keith Holt and Monique Borlee have got

used to such frenzied moments during diving trips at the Damaniyat Islands, and such expressions at best draw a simple grin on their faces. The young-at-heart Keith and Monique excel—and revel—in creating

in the Sultanate, especially the Daymaniyat Islands. That’s their business. Sitting at the Global Scuba Dive Centre, one of the oldest and most loved dive centers in Oman, the veteran couple designs exciting diving holiday packages for scuba divers and snorkellers from across the world. Keith—who is from the Wales, UK—reached Oman in the early 1970s to

work with the erstwhile British Bank of the Middle East, which later became HSBC Oman. He met Monique, a Belgian, in Muscat; married her, and now calls Muscat his home. Their romance with the seas eventually turned into a successful business venture a decade ago with the establishment of Global Scuba LLC, encouraged by his son Yannick, a professional scuba diving instructor. Age has totally failed to diminish their professional commitment. Monique

oversees the dive Centre’s marketing and reservations department. With a commendable mastery of French, Dutch, German, Spanish and English languages, she is best suited for the job, as more than 90 per cent of their clients come from Europe and America. As much as 30 per cent of them are French. Meanwhile, Keith is more into administration and liaising with the government.Global Scuba is located at the Civil Aviation Club, Azaiba, and has nine

bungalows for diving enthusiasts to stay and relax. “Our location is strategic. We are just 25 minutes from the Daymaniyat islands, which is our main diving destination. As the islands are a protected nature reserve, we make every effort to safeguard the islands’ environment,” Moniqu said.

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Of course, they care a lot for the environment. “We

the Oman Government for our eco-friendly initiatives and sustainable diving practices,” Keith said. Also, as an active member of the Environment Society of Oman (ESO), Global Scuba has been playing a key role in promoting responsible tourism in the Sultanate.Apart from diving trips to the Daymaniyat islands,

Global Scuba undertakes trips to Fahal, Bandar al Khyran and al Munassir as well. “Daymaniyat islands are an ideal site to spot sea-horses and whale sharks. Large sea-horses and whale sharks are very rare to spot globally, but Daymaniyat islands seem to be an exception of sorts,” Monique remarked. She recalled times when as many as six whale sharks were spotted during diving expeditions. About 18 km off the Batinah Coast, the Daymaniyat

Islands are a sanctuary for migrating birds and are Oman's only protected marine area, directly

under the supervision of the Ministry of Environment

since 1996. “The islands offer some amazing dive

sites featuring beautiful coral

gardens, reefs, walls, large pelagic

and leopard sharks, along with

seahorses and whale sharks. The diving here

is considered the best in the entire Middle East. Many

divers feel Daymaniyat to be richer in marine life than the Red Sea,” she

said.

admirers from across the globe. To serve them better, they are adding a fourth boat to the existing

It was only recently they took over the dive centre at the Al Sawadi Beach Resort. All this while some of the dive centres in Oman are

downing shutters and packing up. “We absolutely love the business. Our business has had its ups and downs; last year in particular was quite tough. Unfriendly windy weather at the Daymaniyat islands during the last dive season, and negative political

The islands offer someaammaazzing dive sites featuringbbeeaauutiful coral gardens, reefs,

waalllls, large pelagic fish, turtles, raayyss annd leopard sharks, along

with sseeaahhoorrses and whale sharks. The divinngg hheerree is consideredd thee

best in thhee eennttiirree Middle East

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developments in some parts of the Arab world have joined forces to dampen the business. On the other hand we see cruise tourism growing; but cruise visitors to Oman are short-stay guests and don’t have the time to go for diving or other explorations, and generally they don’t spend much,” Keith said.Diving picks up in Oman during winter,

though Monique feels diving can be best enjoyed in Oman in summer. Of late, though, there is a slight increase in the number of summer divers, which according to her is a good sign. Also, Omanis are increasingly taking up diving as a sport. Global Scuba generally remains almost fully booked during winter. At the same time, Keith feels Oman still

remains relatively unknown: “In fact, Oman is the safest and most beautiful country, and is also a great diving destination. But European and other foreign tourists know pretty little about Oman. Much needs to be done to promote the Sultanate abroad.”He continued: “Neighbouring UAE,

especially Dubai, can be best described as the world’s largest shopping destination, but in terms of tourism potential Oman is far ahead with its stunningly beautiful and varied landscape and friendly people. The only glitches are the expensive hotels and yet to be developed tourism infrastructure. We need a lot of signposts to guide the tourists. Even taxi drivers sometimes struggle to locate the sites. What’s wrong with making taxis to use GPS system to navigate easily and avoid getting lost? Also, taxi cars are not metered. These might be small issues but have great impact nonetheless.”Monique intervened: “In France, for

instance, it takes great efforts and time to get a licence to operate a taxi service. They are tested for their knowledge about the tourism sites, culture, and courtesy towards customers etc… I don’t think the taxi operators here are assessed against any such parameters.”Diving in Oman waters is unique, what with

the most diverse marine life, coral reefs and a choice of marine cliffs, small islands, bays and caves. A long stretch of clean coastline extending over 3100 km, along

Keith and Monique

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with wonderful drop-offs ranging 6-40 m in depth

“All it takes is a little more focused marketing and promotion, or in other words an effective brand building, and a commitment to enhance tourism infrastructure, to develop the tourism sector here to greater heights,” they said in unison.Beyond being the only NAUI Scuba Dive Centre in

Oman, Global Scuba is also a PADI Resort and is also a recognised Beuchat Dive Centre and BSAC Resort. The Centre also offers a variety of diving courses in French, English and Arabic. Guests can go for a few speciality courses as well including wreck diving, at Fahal Island – an attractive tug boat and barge, and at Bandar Khairan – Al Munassir.Global Scuba has special agreements with

prominent hotels in Muscat, where guests can avail attractively priced packages. Also, they use the Centre’s strong presence in the social media for broad-based marketing and promotion. Meanwhile to better connect with the younger generation, Global Scuba is developing a highly user-friendly smartphone app, which will be ready for download

in a couple of weeks’ time. Keith and Monique have brought in elements of

allowing guests to spend more time touring the wadis, deserts and mountains. Dolphin watching tours are also arranged in collaboration with some operators.Global Scuba has nine employees, including Keith

and Monique, with four of them Omanis. “There is a lot of Omanisation happening here. All our operational staff, including the three instructors, are Omanis. They have been recruited from the local communities of Qantab and Sawadi regions. We have also been awarded contracts to impart diving skills to staff from various Ministries and a host of

Oil may be down, and political unrest may continue in some regions of the Arab world. However, people’s fascination for the mysterious marine world won’t subside so easily. And diving will continue to remain one of the most exciting activities, believe Keith and Monique.

GGlloooooobal SSScccuuubbbbbbbaaaaaa hhhhhaaaaasssss ssspppppecciiaallaaaaaaaggggggggrrrrreeeeeeeeeeemmmmmmeeeennnntss wwwiitttthhhhh ppprrrooomminneennnnntttttt

hhottttteeeeellssss iiinnn MMMMMuuussscccccaaaaattt, wwwhhhheeeeerrrrreeee ggggguuuuueeesstttscccccaaaaannnnn aaavvvaaaiiilll attractively priced ppackageeeesssss. Also, they use the

Centre’s ssssstttttrong presence in the social mmeeddia for broad-bassseeed

maarrkkettiinngg annd ppromotion

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