US embassy cable - 05MUSCAT471

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, Public Affairs 
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