Ben Alcock has been appointed as the new public relations director for the Sultanate of Oman Tourism Australian & New Zealand office.

With over 15 years working in the travel and tourism industry, Alcock has worked within all aspects of the industry from product development, marketing, communications and destination promotion having held roles with Virgin Atlantic, Hill & Knowlton, the Flight Centre Travel Group and World Resorts of Distinction.

In addition, he has produced the well followed “Disarm Doors & Crosscheck” travel blog and presenter on ABC North Coast Radio’s regular “Planes, Passports and Postcards” travel segment.

“I’m thrilled to be taking up this role.

“The opportunity to help bring promotion of this remarkable destination to life, to tell the stories of its wonderful people and places, and encourage more travellers to expand their horizons and visit is a rare one indeed.

“It’s a real privilege to join such a well-respected and energetic team, and I look forward to playing a part in its ongoing success.”

The destination has consistently seen double digit growth from Australia and follows the appointment of Margaret Spiro to the NZ Account Manager’s role that will see a greater focus on the development of consumer campaigns, wholesale initiatives and major sponsorships that will further unveil Oman as ‘The Best Kept Secret of Arabia’.

Mona Tannous; country manager for Australia & NZ stated: “Ben brings incredible experience to the Oman team; his passion for his work, the destination, his ability to understand the market and speak to consumers across various media platforms made him perfect for the role.

“Having Ben and Margaret on board (plus an additional team member), we will be ready to implement our innovative long term tourism strategy for Australia & New Zealand that will see a greater focus on driving the “experience and journey” of Oman to the consumer market.”

Ben will commence is role on Monday.