Why Are Omanis Boycotting Travel to Georgia?

Omani online commentators have been calling on each other to avoid traveling to Georgia after two Omani families were reportedly denied entry to the east European country last week.

With the trending hashtag #لا_تسافر_جورجيا (Don't travel to Georgia), hundreds of Twitter users weighed on the Georgian decision to return two Omani families who were planning to spend their vacations in Georgia.

Translation: "Warning: Don't think of traveling to Georgia. They mistreat Omani families and return them from the airport without providing clarification. It is true that they have full control over who they let in but this is humiliating for us. My advice is don't accept such treatment for you or your family and avoid traveling to Georgia."

According to the Omai ambassador to Turkey, the decision followed Georgia's new COVID-19 travel restrictions which ban travelers from a number of countries, including Oman. However, he said such regulations should have been made clear by the airlines before families were boarded to the flight headed to Tiblisi.

The story was first reported by a Omani man on the 6th of January 2022, as he talked about his siblings being returned and mistreated during their trip to Georgia last week.

Translation: "Are there job opportunities in Georgia? No. Do you have relatives to visit there? No. Is there an exceptional natural environment you can't find anywhere else? No. There are 200 other countries in the world and yet you still insist on visiting Georgia despite the mistreatment you hear about!"

Despite this clarification, Omanis expressed anger towards the treatment reported by the two Omani families, saying that people should reconsider travel plans to Georgia in the future. Some users suggested that more Omanis think of domestic tourism to avoid being mistreated by other countries.

Others stressed the importance of checking out the latest travel updates in countries they plan to visit during the pandemic, to avoid such incidents.