By Conrad Prabhu -
Sustainability is the bedrock philosophy at the core of the government’s future strategy for developing the vital tourism sector and positioning Oman as a high-end leisure destination.
Projections of another bumper year in tourism traffic this year are yet again evidence of Oman’s enduring tourist appeal to international visitors, notwithstanding the global economic downturn that severely hit tourism destinations around the world.
Indeed, recent announcements by the Tourism Ministry point to yet another successful year, albeit relative to the rest of the world, for the Sultanate’s vibrant tourism sector. An uptrend in international travel continues to have a favourable impact on visitor numbers arriving in the Sultanate, driven by robust growth in arrivals from the Gulf states and many European markets.
Visitor arrivals numbers are up and most of the Sultanate’s key source markets are performing well, says Tourism Under-Secretary Mohammed bin Hamoud al Tobi. Domestic and GCC regional tourism is growing strongly, especially for short-break holidays from GCC destinations. Nevertheless, some segments like meetings and conventions activity are recovering slowly.
Statistics released by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) point to a significant growth in tourist arrivals from the Gulf states during the year ending June 2010, compared with the previous year. Visitor numbers from Saudi Arabia have jumped 30 per cent, while arrivals have also been on the rise from Qatar (22 per cent) and the United Arab Emirates (10 per cent).
While trends out of Europe, a key source market for Oman’s tourism industry, have been mixed, arrivals from destinations served by national carrier Oman 
Air are strongly on the increase. Arrivals from Europe and Nordic countries remain variable and mirror the economic fortunes of the each country, but overall numbers are well up on 2009. Oman Air’s entry into Germany and France in October 2009 has triggered record arrivals from Germany (113 per cent) and France (73 per cent). Additionally, Italy (12 per cent) and Switzerland (2 per cent) show growth, but travel from the United Kingdom (-18 per cent), The Netherlands (-2 per cent) and Belgium (-13 per cent) are down, as they are for other destinations. Other source markets like India and Australia have been registering record year-on-year growth with arrivals increasing by four per cent and eight per cent respectively.
Oman is looking to add to existing tourism promotion offices in France, Germany and the UK, with new offices in Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy and Scandinavia, as well as Russia, China, Japan and India.
Oman lays great store by its tourism sector as a powerful catalyst for foreign investment and general socio-economic development. As a labour-intensive industry, tourism has the potential to create far more jobs for local Omanis than any other economic sector — an objective that lies at the heart of the government’s tourism strategy.
Recent pronouncements by Tourism Minister Dr Rajha bint Abdulameer bin Ali at key local and international forums, affirm the government’s commitment to pushing ahead with the development of the country’s tourism industry.
A full recovery is already on track with the government, as always, playing a lead role in fuelling the industry’s revival. Massive investments in air 
transportation, tourism and other key infrastructure are continuing apace in a demonstration of the government’s commitment to underpinning the industry’s development. And in a recent shot in the arm for the sector, the stalled Madina A’Zarqa project (The Blue City), an ambitious $20 billion residential and commercial development, is being revived with an injection of foreign funds.
Also expected to pay dividends are a host of major infrastructure projects either managed directly by the Ministry or by Omran, the state-owned tourism development vehicle. Omran is well advanced in the construction works for the 2010 Asian Beach Games Village in Musannah, along with several hotel and resort projects here and in regional locations.
Funding has also been confirmed for the construction of a state-of-the-art convention and exhibition centre near Muscat International Airport. These projects will allow Oman to secure international business and cultural events targeting high yielding visitor segments. The convention and exhibition centre will also be a platform to showcase Oman’s wider investment, trade and manufacturing sector.
Notwithstanding the inevitable slowdown in the implementation of lavish integrated tourism schemes unveiled prior to the financial crisis, some projects continue to make headway in their development. Muriya, a joint venture of Omran and Egypt’s Orascom Hotels and Development, continues to press ahead with the implementation of its Jebel Sifah and Salalah Beach projects. In addition, the joint venture plans to pursue the development of a city complex in Muscat and a boutique hotel on Sodah Island.
Investor interest in The Wave, Muscat — a $4 billion mixed-use community located near Muscat International Airport — continues 
to be significant. The 100 per cent freehold development will also host Oman’s first 18 hole green links golf course, designed by golfing legend Greg Norman, a 300-berth marina, three 5-star luxury hotels, and more than 4,000 properties.
The 8th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) identifies a number of objectives: boosting inbound traffic, ramping up tourism promotion activities, promoting niche activities such as environmental tourism, mountain climbing, spelunking and so on, and encouraging employment opportunities for Omanis. Priority will also be accorded to sustainable tourism development with emphasis on cultural and environmental conservation.
The Tourism Ministry aims to attract increased foreign investment in quality infrastructure and services as part of its strategy for tourism development during the 8th Plan. Tourism Under-Secretary Mohammed al Tobi describes the upcoming five-year-plan as a period of “great strategic value” to the country’s tourism industry, especially as the Ministry ramps up efforts to boost Oman’s profile as a quality business, tourism and leisure destination in key source markets.
A key goal of the 8th Plan is to diversify the range of quality tourism products and attractions offered to international visitors. Also on the agenda is an initiative to increase local community involvement in tourism development and flow-on activities. The strategy envisages support for the growth of small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) as a tool to increase the spread of benefits to local communities. This set of objectives is aimed at delivering industry-wide and sustainable outcomes that are required to take the tourism sector to the next level, says Al Tobi
Significantly, the 8th Five-Year Plan for tourism 
development also calls for the implementation of a Tourism Human Resources Strategy suitably formulated for the benefit of the entire sector. By 2015, the number of hotel rooms in the Sultanate of Oman is expected to top 26,500 with the addition of an estimated 15,750 new rooms. This growth will generate an estimated 19,000 new jobs for Omani nationals.
The tourism sector is highly labour intensive with some of the highest job creation multipliers because it draws on so many sectors (IT, transport, food and hospitality) and levels of management. For these reasons, Oman is well placed to meet its job creation targets and make a sustainable contribution to national, regional and local economic development, the Under-Secretary notes.
