MUSCAT: The Sultanate of Oman has an excellent potential to emerge as a global tourism haven. It needs better
marketing to popularise its products, and the audience needs to be familiarised.
According to experts from the US and UK, the country's tourism potential is not limited to hospitality, culture and heritage.
"The Sultanate of Oman is a wonderful country. All we need is to initiate promotional activities and
marketing strategies globally. The international and institutional investors in tourism are looking for
safety, security and the investment process to be streamlined," said John Fareed, Global Chairman of
Horwath HTL, Hotel, Tourism and Leisure.
He was speaking at the Oman Forum on Hotel Travel and Leisure, which opened on Tuesday under the
auspices of the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism and presided over by Faisal bin Abdullah al Rawas, Chairman
of the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industries.
Speaking to the Observer on the sidelines of the forum, Fareed said he was really impressed with the
facilities in the Sultanate of Oman, besides its landscape, people and hospitality, which make all the
difference.
"Tourism holds great potential for investments. Oman is a great tourism haven with its clean
environment and multiple offerings of heritage sites which can attract cruise, glamping, beach activities,
and so on. The growth will continue as the Middle East region is recovering more than any other
region," he said.
James Chappell, Global Business Director of Horwath HTL, Hotel, Tourism and Leisure, observed that
overall the industry is exceptionally positive post Covid-19 and travel and tourism are all the more powerful
as revenge travel is happening.
"There is not going to be a smooth sail as the recession is going to happen in many countries, but travel
and tourism will thrive. The Sultanate of Oman can play a crucial role, as its culture and people are
unique in tourism promotion," said Chappell.
Davis Kallukaran, Managing Partner of Crowe Oman, said that the sector's contribution to the GDP of
Oman is only 2.4 per cent, while the world average is around 10 per cent.
"Oman is so unique and blessed with a diversified topography from Salalah to Muscat, and every nook
and corner of the Sultanate is rich in heritage and culture. We should know our strength and our
available resources and leverage the strength by technology," he said.
The forum opined that the tourism sector is expected to contribute 5 per cent to the GDP by 2030 and
10 per cent by 2040. The Vision 2040 of the Oman government is expected to invest RO 10 billion in the
tourism industry by 2040 to make a contribution of RO 9 billion from tourism alone to the GDP.
"However, the biggest challenge the Sultanate of Oman has is unemployment, and tourism is the
solution. With the right attitude, the country's youth could engage in tourism-related activities that do
not need high technical skills. With their right attitude, every youth in Oman could be self-employed in
tourism," Kallukaran said.
The first session was initiated by Fareed whose topic focussed on the market scenario in the hotel industry in the Middle East
region, where he highlighted the hotel performances and the investments in the pipeline.
The hotel industry has successfully recovered in some countries, uncovering deficiencies that may slow recovery in
the years ahead. By 2029, region will see more than 100,000 new hotel rooms.
Chappell, who spoke about outdoor tourism, said, "Our experience in this burgeoning sector and scope of services ensures that we can support our clients from
the concept stage through opening and ongoing operations. Horwath HTL's Outdoor Hospitality provides
a full range of hospitality consulting services designed to address the unique operating, investment and
environmental issues in the nature-based outdoor sector of the hospitality industry. From initial location
and site analysis, preliminary market research and feasibility work to operator selection, our team has
the expertise to assist in new developments and repositioning of existing assets. These involve the
Market Analysis, Accommodation types, Players and Market Opportunity. He further emphasised that
Oman has excellent potential in this line.
In his presentation, Sinisa Taplovic, Global head of tourism advisory, talked about the region's
developments and presented case studies about the developments in other GCC countries. He
commented that Oman has unique advantages in the tourism area and is yet to take advantage of the
potential. He said this is a virgin market, and the sky is the limit for growth.
Adel Maniar, Partner Business advisory in charge of HTL Consulting, thanked the guests while Mazzon al
Balushi, Relationship Manager at Invest Oman, made the presentation on the opportunities to the
investors, hoteliers, financiers and business owners from Oman, apart from the officials from Ministry of
Heritage and Tourism, Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion of Oman.
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