Oman’s tourism industry is on a roll with aggressive marketing strategies and campaigns. The country welcomed more than two million tourists last year, registering an increase of 4.6% over the previous year.
Tourists from the Gulf region accounted for 41% of total number of visitors, as Asians constituted 23% and Europeans 19.2%. Statistics also revealed that number of hotels grew by 5.3%, the number of visitors to forts and castles increased by 23.8%, as most of them visited Nizwa Fort and Jibreen Castle in Al Dakhiyah Governorate.
The flow of tourists to Jabal Al Akhdhar grew by 13.8%, Wadi Bani Khalid saw an increase of 4.1%, while number of tourists visiting Ras Al Jinz Turtle Reserve increased by 30%.
As many as 2,223,000 tourists visited the Sultanate last year, up from the figure of 2,125,000 recorded during the previous year. Cruise tourism brought in 125,000 tourists last year, down from 202,000 during the previous year. However, cruise tourism is projected to grow significantly in the future as Port Sultan Qaboos is being converted into a full-fledged international tourism port.
The number of hospitality installations increased by 5.3% to stand at 297, as compared to 282 hotels registered in 2013, and consequently number of hotel rooms increased by 7.3% to stand at 15,424.
Comments are closed.