Good roads are vital to tourism growth
Published: 02:05 PM,May 11,2022 | EDITED : 06:05 PM,May 11,2022
haiderdawood@hotmail.com -
Nations around the world are working to improve their road networks while strengthening their tourism infrastructure to help drive sustainable economic growth. Good roads make a good impression on tourists and encourage visitors to travel further afield into the various regions of the country.
In our region, the Gulf Cooperation Council countries have shown great interest in development of the road sector, with the result that they have secured top spots in world rankings. The Sultanate of Oman has achieved the eighth place globally and first in the Arab world on the Road Quality Index in 2018. This has contributed to Oman’s competitive appeal in tourism, business and logistics.
Despite this great development, the road and tourism sectors need further to help drive greater inflows of tourists. Good roads serve to move goods and people very quickly, in addition to stimulating the tourism sector. Enhanced partnerships between government institutions and the private sector can support the implementation of joint projects related to road infrastructure and tourism, thereby promoting economic diversification and employment creation. Good roads also boost vehicular traffic and reduce traffic accidents.
From this standpoint, many countries are working to develop and broaden their carriageways to support four-lane and even five-lane traffic, particularly where they connect with popular destinations. Everyone is aware that the global travel tourism movement witnessed during the past two decades a great boom before declining in the past two years due to the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. The number of travellers around the world for tourism exceeds one billion people annually, while the tourism sector achieves a growth rate ranging between 4 – 6 per cent annually.
Since the countries of the region, including the Sultanate of Oman, are working to activate the tourism and travel sector to enhance their share of global tourism, they are continuing to develop these sectors to access distinctive tourist sites in their respective countries. It also helps to overcome obstacles and facilitate procedures to increase the added value of the tourism sector and increase its contribution to the gross domestic product.
The importance of tourism in the Sultanate of Oman lies in a number of social, cultural, political and economic factors. It needs to promote awareness and marketing for this vital sector, in addition to providing more facilities, public services, and communication and media channels to get word across to all tourists around the world. In order to enhance its competitiveness in the global tourism market, it needs to attract larger numbers of tourists by targeting new markets and thereby achieve the strategic goal boosting tourism’s contribution to 6 per cent of the GDP in the year 2040.
The current figures for tourism indicate that there are more than 200,000 people working in the tourism sector in the Sultanate of Oman. The industry contributes 2.5 per cent to the gross domestic product, according to 2019 data, while there are hopes that the tourism sector, with the country’s excellent roads, will play a major role in driving growth in the coming years.
Nations around the world are working to improve their road networks while strengthening their tourism infrastructure to help drive sustainable economic growth. Good roads make a good impression on tourists and encourage visitors to travel further afield into the various regions of the country.
In our region, the Gulf Cooperation Council countries have shown great interest in development of the road sector, with the result that they have secured top spots in world rankings. The Sultanate of Oman has achieved the eighth place globally and first in the Arab world on the Road Quality Index in 2018. This has contributed to Oman’s competitive appeal in tourism, business and logistics.
Despite this great development, the road and tourism sectors need further to help drive greater inflows of tourists. Good roads serve to move goods and people very quickly, in addition to stimulating the tourism sector. Enhanced partnerships between government institutions and the private sector can support the implementation of joint projects related to road infrastructure and tourism, thereby promoting economic diversification and employment creation. Good roads also boost vehicular traffic and reduce traffic accidents.
From this standpoint, many countries are working to develop and broaden their carriageways to support four-lane and even five-lane traffic, particularly where they connect with popular destinations. Everyone is aware that the global travel tourism movement witnessed during the past two decades a great boom before declining in the past two years due to the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. The number of travellers around the world for tourism exceeds one billion people annually, while the tourism sector achieves a growth rate ranging between 4 – 6 per cent annually.
Since the countries of the region, including the Sultanate of Oman, are working to activate the tourism and travel sector to enhance their share of global tourism, they are continuing to develop these sectors to access distinctive tourist sites in their respective countries. It also helps to overcome obstacles and facilitate procedures to increase the added value of the tourism sector and increase its contribution to the gross domestic product.
The importance of tourism in the Sultanate of Oman lies in a number of social, cultural, political and economic factors. It needs to promote awareness and marketing for this vital sector, in addition to providing more facilities, public services, and communication and media channels to get word across to all tourists around the world. In order to enhance its competitiveness in the global tourism market, it needs to attract larger numbers of tourists by targeting new markets and thereby achieve the strategic goal boosting tourism’s contribution to 6 per cent of the GDP in the year 2040.
The current figures for tourism indicate that there are more than 200,000 people working in the tourism sector in the Sultanate of Oman. The industry contributes 2.5 per cent to the gross domestic product, according to 2019 data, while there are hopes that the tourism sector, with the country’s excellent roads, will play a major role in driving growth in the coming years.