Muscat: Major traffic congestion was reported on Omani-UAE borders as thousands of Omanis travelled to the UAE to spend Isra’ Wal Miraj long weekend.

Many of them had to wait for hours to cross the Omani-UAE borders, while some of them cancelled their trips to the UAE due to the massive gridlock.

Congestion reported in Al Wajajah, Kutmat Melaha, Buraimi and Hafeet borders, an official at Oman’s Police has said.

Pictures of traffic gridlock went viral on the social media platforms, with many users saying that it’s the usual scenario during holidays, when Omanis flock to Dubai due to the lack of sufficient tourist attractions in the sultanate, particularly the kind of entertainment that Dubai is known for.

Mohammad Al Safawi, Ibra resident, told Gulf News that it took him two hours to cross the Al Wajajah border post.

“It was a long queue as more than 300 vehicles were waiting to cross the border on Thursday morning,” said Al Safawi. Al Safawi calls for better tourist facilities and entertainment places in the country, so that Omanis will spend their holiday here instead of travelling to neighbouring countries.

Rashid Al Hosni, Khabourah resident, another traveller, said that he cancelled his trip to Dubai, due to the same scenario of traffic congestion during holidays.

“The traffic was unbearable, so I decided to cancel the trip,” said Al Hosni.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Tourism said on its official twitter account that the ministry has followed up what it has been circulating in the social media with a great interest.

The Ministry of Tourism calls upon all investors to invest in the tourist sector, stressing that there lots of tourist opportunities in the country.

“We seek the private sector cooperation in investing in the tourist sector, mostly in the entertainment side,” said the ministry.

The number of Omani tourists visiting Dubai stood at 322,000 in the first quarter of 2016 — an increase of 32 per cent from 2015, according to Al Bayan, Emirati daily newspaper.

Oman attracted roughly 2.5 million visitors in 2015, according to the Ministry of Tourism figures. It says by 2020, it wants to attract 12 million tourists annually.

Tourism currently accounts for only three per cent of Oman’s gross domestic product.