Oman Government to invest US$39mn in tourism
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In an effort to boost its tourism portfolio, the Sultanate of Oman is taking a 360-degree look at its tourism product.
The government is raising investment and private sector interest with a raft of pipeline projects underway from Khasab to Salalah.
“The Omani government has allocated US$39mn to develop tourism sites in Dhofar province this year, as the annual Khareef (monsoon) season attracts increasing numbers of local, regional and international visitors,” said Mark Walsh, portfolio director, Reed Travel Exhibitions.
Muscat International Airport’s new multi-million dollar terminal is set to open next year, with the capacity to handle 12 million passengers per annum, with potential for a projected 48 million passengers upon completion of its long-term phased expansion programme. To the south of the country, new tourism hotspot Salalah is also preparing for one million passengers each year once it debuts its upgraded airport in 2014.
Both Qatar Airways and Oman Air are launching new services from Salalah in 2013, with the airport recording a 23% rise in passenger traffic to 629,000 travellers in 2012 against 2011.
Hotel room capacity in the country is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 5.3% over the period 2011 to 2016 and the Sultanate currently has approximately 5,331 rooms – or 7% of GCC expected supply – under development, with some 2,000 hotel rooms ready for business by the end of 2013, according to the Ministry of Tourism.