Muscat: Majlis Ash’shura on Sunday hosted Salim bin Mohammad al Mahrouqi, Minister of Heritage and Tourism.
The tourism sector has witnessed a steady growth in its indicators over the past years, bringing the sector’s total contribution to RO 1.3 billion by the end of 2019, with a direct added value of RO 718 million riyals, compared to 700 million riyals in 2018, forming 2.5% of the Sultanate’s GDP. The number of inbound visitors increased, reaching 3.5 million visitors in 2019, said the Minister while addressing the council.
In the field of craft industries, work is underway to implement a programme consisting of an inventory of craft industries, documenting them at the governorate level, creating a comprehensive database, determining the contribution of the craft industries sector to the domestic production, activating the studies of developing craft industries and converting them into investment projects in coordination with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority, he added.
The Ministry of Heritage and Tourism has intensified its efforts to build an integrated system for the management of tombstones and monuments, with the aim of sustaining it "in protection, documentation, restoration, maintenance and employment" in specialized museums, and registering a number of them in the World Heritage List, Salim bin Mohammad al Mahrouqi said.
The Ministry also aims to expand the scope of the programme of archaeological surveys and excavations, and combating the illicit trade in cultural property, and in a series of specialized archaeological scientific publications, he informed.
"Meanwhile, work is in progress to provide the basic enablers for the comprehensive development plan, in coordination with all competent authorities, and this includes the investment program directed at the private sector and foreign investment", the minister said.
During the session, the minister highlighted that the ministry is making strenuous efforts in developing the labour market environment in the tourism sector, identifying the underlying challenges, organizing the mechanism of contracts for the right of usufruct of tourist lands, and developing tourist destinations in accordance with financial and professional requirements and standards and needs of the labour market.
The Ministry aims to attract total investments worth RO 3 billion in the coming three years within the program of attracting investments and developing exports, which stems from the priorities of Oman 2040 Vision.
The Ministry's plan during the next three years is to target international or regional conferences and exhibitions, and to focus on the meetings sector and incentive groups regionally and internationally, through the tourism representation offices of the ministry.
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