Oman Revs Up Tourism For Rising Number Of Visitors

According to Ahmed bin Nasser Al Meherzi, Oman's Minister of Tourism, by 2020 there will be 20,000 hotel rooms in three to five-star category hotels in the beautiful Middle Eastern country and if the tourism sector continues to grow, the Sultanate will achieve this target before 2018.

"The (Oman Tourism) strategy includes the construction of 50,000 hotel rooms with three-stars and above during the next 25 years, with permits to build budget hotel rooms, but they will not be listed within the strategy," he said.

"The Oman Tourism Strategy, which has been implemented since the beginning of 2016 after it was approved by the Council of Ministers, focuses on several objectives, the foremost of which is enhancing domestic tourism, particularly the recreational sector, which the ministry is currently executing," the minister added.

The minister also pointed out that domestic tourism, its trends and objectives, due to its importance, dominates about 50% of the strategy. He added that this requires utilities and installations that meet demand of the Omani tourist who looks for recreational tourism related-installations and services.

Al Meherzi commented that the total investment expected for this sector during the upcoming years exceeds €2bn adding that there are projects being implemented, others were issued licenses to be established and other projects are under study.

Among the recreational tourism projects that have been approved is the construction of two water parks in Salalah and another world-class water park that will be located at Al Athaiba, in the Governorate of Muscat; a world-class recreational city in the Wilayat of Al Seeb; a family leisure park in the Wilayat of Al Musannah stretching over 5 million square metres and a project to set up a zoo.

Al Meherzi added that the Masirah Island will see the implementation of a tourist project that is aimed at enhancing the tourism sector on the island, as it has good tourism potential. He pointed out that two sites had been presented to investors for the development of a yacht marina, tourist resort and chalets.

Oman is a hugely popular country for tourism in the Persian Gulf, with domestic holidaymakers comprising the majority of visitors. Real estate prices are relatively low and investors can purchase a one-bedroom apartment for around €85,000, according to Savills Oman.

With consistent demand for holiday homes there are plenty of opportunities to achieve consistent rental income through purchasing in the country's gorgeous coastal areas. Property prices in the country are rising steadily, with apartments increasing by 6% in the last quarter of 2015, according to Savills research.

PUBLISHED : 07TH MARCH 2016