MUSCAT BOOK FAIR: SALES DOWN, LESSONS LEARNED

UNCLAS MUSCAT 000471

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ARPI (TROBERTS),NEA/PPD (CWHITTLESEY),
NEA/PPD (PAGNEW),IIP/G/NEA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KPAO SCUL OIIP TSPL MU
SUBJECT: MUSCAT BOOK FAIR: SALES DOWN, LESSONS LEARNED


1. Summary: Embassy Muscat exhibited 85 American titles at
the Muscat International Book Fair. We sold a total of 120
Arabic-language books, down from previous years. We plan to
substantially increase the number of English titles we offer
next year. End summary.

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Getting the Books out There
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2. Description of Activity: For the eighth consecutive year,
Embassy Muscat exhibited books at the Muscat International
Book Fair (February 22 - March 4, 2005),offering 85 RBO
Arabic titles for sale on a variety of topics. We sold 120
books for a total sale of USD 1,082. The sales were lower
than sales figures in 2004 and 2003 in which 165 and 139
books were sold, respectively. The reduction in sales was
due in part to increased competition and our failure to
offer any books in English.

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Who's Buying What?
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3. Our number one seller was "Democracy in America," with 18
copies sold. A weak second-place seller was "The Islamic
Threat: Myth or Reality" (seven copies). There was a clear
interest in English-language books, which unfortunately we
did not offer. Many visitors to the Embassy booth were
looking for English-language books and assumed that they
would find a broad selection.

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Actions To Take
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4. The Embassy will dedicate more resources to publicity,
contract proactive sales people, and liaise with book
sellers, students, and librarians prior to the fair to gain
a better understanding of what Omani readers seek in terms
of books related to the U.S. We also hope to leverage
developments in the country to sell more. For example, the
Embassy will incorporate a number of international trade and
business books into its inventory to satisfy interest
generated on the topic by the U.S.-Oman Free Trade Agreement
Negotiations that began this month in Muscat.

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Spreading Values
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5. Through our participation in the fair, the Embassy hopes
to increase understanding of American values, encourage the
free flow of information, and expand respect for U.S.
expertise in key sectors. The Embassy's MPP goal for this
project is Democratic Systems and Practices. The audience
was a self-selecting audience numbering more than 450,000
people over ten days, according to press reports.

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Influencing Others
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6. Result/Impact: The long-term impact remains to be
assessed. An average of 150-200 people per day visited the
Embassy's booth.

BALTIMORE