Date: 29 Jan 2012

Oman Air, working with the Oman Ministry of Tourism, has announced a unique event which will showcase the wonders of the Sultanate of Oman to some of Europe’s leading media personalities.

The First Annual Oman Air International Media Treasure Hunt will pit teams of journalists from Oman Air's European destinations of France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and the UK against each other in a challenge to discover as much as possible about the history, culture, landscapes, nature and people of this amazing destination.

The search for information will be triggered by a series of cryptic clues and will involve travel across the length and breadth of the Sultanate, using every imaginable form of transport, from taxis and hire cars to aircraft, boats and camels.

Wayne Pearce, CEO at Oman Air, stated:

"We are delighted to be launching this unique event, which will take the cream of European journalism on the tour of a lifetime around Oman. They will discover for themselves the breath-taking landscapes, unspoiled coastline, rich culture and long history of this beautiful country, experience its safety and serenity and enjoy the warm hospitality of the Omani people."

The seven-day adventure will run between the 6th and 13th February and will start and finish with a night's stay in one of Muscat's finest five-star hotels. In between those nights of luxury, participating teams will race against each other as they scour the country for information and insights into Omani life.

Mohammed Al Shikely, General Manager Marketing at Oman Air, in close coordination with Oman Air's Corporate Communication and Media department, oversees the launch of this First Annual Oman Air International Media Treasure Hunt, which consists of teams of four journalists each, who will be flown in Oman Air's award-winning Business Class from their home countries to Oman to take part. They will be encouraged to use social media to call on their readers' and viewers' assistance in solving the clues they are given, and the whole event will be filmed for broadcast at a later date. Regular updates will also be provided via Oman Air's Facebook pages and Twitter account, and on YouTube.

The teams are as follows:
From Italy: Bellantoni Ilaria, Publication - My Self - Condè Nast; (Circulation: 440000 Monthly) Porta Francesca, Publication - Style.it; (Circulation:1.8 million per month; 100000 per day) Mr. Ugo De Berti, Publication - Corriere della Sera Viaggi (Circulation/View: 1.2 million per day Unique users for travel page 1,1 million per month) and Tomasini Paolo Dini, Publication - Capital - Class; (Circulation: 94688 Monthly.)

From Zurich: Alexandra Karle, Publication: TRAVEL INSIDE (German edition) (Circulation: weekly / 8850 ex) Gérald Baeriswyl, Freelancer working for SF Television Suisse, Où Magazine and Echo Magazine, Sonja Huesler, Publication: TELE a TV program guide with an extended travel, lifestyle and society section. (Circulation: weekly / 145025 ex) Manuela Regina Burkhalter, Travel editor - artundreise - a luxurious travel magazine for an upper segment. It treats all aspects of travel and culture. (Circulation: quarterly/25000 ex)

From Germany: Yvonne Johanna Zagermann, Publication: Traveldudes (Blog), Jakob Steinschaden, Publication: KURIER (daily national newspaper, Austria), Christian Markus Ignatzi, Publication: Sonntag aktuell, Sunday newspaper Stuttgart region (Circulation: 1 million), Patrick Hoffmann, Publication: Madsack Medien producing the travel pages for over 10 regional daily newspaper across Germany. (Circulation: 700000)

From the UK: Ben west, Publication: Freelance, Kate Spicer, a star columnist at the Sunday Times (circulation: 993768 weekly) who also writes freelance articles on travel and lifestyle issues for a number of high-end UK and overseas titles. She has also presented a number of shows on national TV and has a commission for Wallpaper* magazine (circulation: 108250 monthly), Iain Scott Mallory, One of the UK's leading travel bloggers, Mr Mallory has 14,000+ Twitter followers and 7,500 unique visitors to his website (www.malloryontravel.com) every month, Dylan Lowe, an up-and-coming star of travel journalism, Dylan has been nominated twice for The Guardian newspaper's prestigious awards programme and operates his own travel website, www.thetravellingeditor.com. He is very active within the social media field, having 4,000 Twitter followers and 15,000 tweets to his name to date. Dylan also writes in a freelance capacity for a range of print and online publications.

From France: Ms. Marie- Ange Ostre, experienced travel blogger for Un Monde Ailleurs and chief editor of Repérages Voyages online travel magazine (circulation/Viewers: 531000 readers) Mr. Patrick Biagani, Voyagerluxe.com, luxury travel website, (20000 visitors per month) Ms. Mary Castro, Publication: La Voix du Nord - Regional daily newspaper, north of France (circulation: 1.1 million) Ms. Patricia Guipponi, Publication: Midi Libre - Regional daily newspaper, south of France (circulation: 572 000 readers)

Wayne Pearce added:

"This is the first of what will become an annual highlight in the international media calendar and we look forward to offering the warmest of Omani welcomes to each participant. I cannot think of a better or more memorable gift than to introduce a person to such an amazing destination as the Sultanate of Oman and this is a tremendous opportunity to share the country's beauty and charm with a large number of the world's leading opinion formers."

The launch of the First Annual Oman Air International Media Treasure Hunt follows a three-year period in which Oman Air has been transformed. The airline has expanded its network to include 41 exciting global destinations, introduced new fleets of Airbus A330 and Embraer E175 aircraft, pioneered complete inflight mobile phone and wi-fi connectivity and attracted international acclaim for the quality of its products and services.