With as many as 363 projects valued at RO 2.290 billion across all the governorates of the Sultanate of Oman, from 2021 to 2025, the Sultanate of Oman is making a quantum leap towards the future, whose ripple effect can be felt across all sectors, including the job market and the economy as a whole.
About 12 integrated tourism complexes have been implemented with a current investment value of RO 1.07 billion, while more than 24 projects are for domestic tourism development, 28 projects utilize heritage sites and historical monuments in the tourism sector, and 124 hotel establishments have been developed from 2021 to 2022, with a total investment value of RO 139 million.
It is all scaled to touch a whopping 2.290 figure as the Ministry is to attract additional investments worth RO 700 million by the year 2025, while indicators point to the possibility of exceeding the targeted number early.
The investment position of the projects that are under implementation, which was agreed upon with various segments of investors in the public and private sectors, from 2021 to 2025, reached 363 projects across all the governorates of Oman, with a confirmed value of RO 2.290 billion.
Buoyed by the mammoth leap that Oman’s tourism sector is poised to take, the country discussed sustainable decision-making and financing during the International Tourism & Investment Conference (ITIC) the Middle East Tourism Investment Session at the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2023, which took place in Dubai on May 1-4, 2023.
The main highlight of the Sultanate is the strong growth in the hospitality and tourism sectors, with around 10,292 hotel rooms currently in the pipeline for development in the country.
According to a report published by STR, a leading global provider of hotel industry-related data, as many as 150,000 hotel rooms are in development across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. Saudi Arabia leads the list with 100,071 hotel rooms, followed by Dubai (27,095 rooms), Qatar (17,145), Bahrain (3,452), and Kuwait (1,369). In total, there are 159,424 pipeline rooms under contract in the Gulf at present.
Oman’s Ministry of Heritage and Tourism (MoHT) is looking forward to investments in the tourism sector reaching RO 3 billion during the aforementioned period and this comes within the framework of the ministry’s efforts to promote tourism investments in all sectors and keep pace with the growing tourism movement in the country.
“The Ministry’s efforts in attracting investment come from the standpoint of the developmental role that relies on the tourism sector under the objectives of Oman Vision 2040 and the comprehensive plan for developing the tourism sector in Oman,” stated Salem bin Mohammad al Mahrouqi, Minister of Heritage and Tourism.
He further said that in addition, 113 hotel establishments with an investment cost of less than RO 5 million per facility are being implemented at an investment cost of RO 102 million, of which 15 projects are under implementation on government lands and 98 projects are under implementation on private lands. Hotel establishments vary to include resorts and hotels with a rating of one to three stars, luxury camps, tourist camps, green lodges, hotel apartments, guest houses, rest houses, and others.
“These investments combine the economic aspect represented by the fact that the sector is one of the potential sectors to achieve economic diversification with direct investments to maximize the utilization of the potential the Sultanate of Oman is enjoying while highlighting and preserving the country’s heritage as well.”
These investments in the tourism sector also work to empower its role in developing the economies of the governorates, through projects that keep pace with the comparative advantages of each governorate, in addition to the benefit of these projects to local communities and small and medium enterprises in the governorates.
ITCs
According to Oman Vision 2040, the Integrated Tourism Complexes (ITCs) represent the biggest chunk of the volume of investments in the tourism sector, and as many as 12 ITCs with an investment value of RO 3.9 billion are currently being implemented, which includes RO 1.07 billion as investment value from 2021 to 2025.
These complexes include the Al Mouj project, Barr Al Jissah Resort (the port district development), Mandarin Oriental project and residence, Al Diyar Ras Al Hadd Resort, HawanaSalalah (Salalah Beach Resort), Yiti Sustainable City, Phase Two of the Mirbat Tourism Project, Phases A and B of Jebel Sifah and Blue City Project, and The Orient and Palm Resort project, according to the MoHT.
Yet another package of ITC is soon going to change the skyline of the capital city, the Governorate of Musandam, and the Governorate of South Al Sharqiya South, with an estimated total investment value of RO 2.5 billion. This is envisaged to diversify the Sultanate’s tourism and recreational components while enhancing aspects of their benefit to local communities and their ICV (in-country value) by finding attractive opportunities for small and medium enterprises and providing varied employment opportunities to the labour market.
Multi-use projects
Several qualitative and multi-use projects with a total investment value of RO 262 million, including the Oman Botanic Garden, the Village Project, and the Salalah Gardens (The Nargil Farm) project.
Also, several projects are currently being set to be developed at Halanaiyat and Dimaniyat Islands with an estimated investment cost of RO137 million from 2021 to 2025, while efforts are being exerted to attract prestigious hotel marks such as the Four Seasons Hotel.
The hotel establishments’ projects
As many as 124 hotel establishments have been developed from 2021 to 2022, with a total investment value of RO 139 million, including 4 hotel projects such as the Avani Hotel project in Al - Seeb, the Dusit D2 Hotel in Jabal Al Akhdar, the Intercity Hotel Muscat, and Jumeirah Muscat Hotel in Muscat.
Additionally, as many as 120 hotel projects with an investment cost of less than RO5 million per project are currently ongoing, and this will give yet another boost to Oman’s ambitious tourism development projects. These projects include hotel apartments, guest houses, heritage inns, and green
inns, and others, with a total investment value of RO 48.075 million.
The growth doesn’t end there. Nearly 127 new hotel establishment projects with a total investment value of RO 340 million are under implementation, including 14 hotel projects with an investment cost higher than RO 5 million per project with ratings ranging from 3 to 5 stars and hotel apartments with a total investment value of RO 238 million.
Developing domestic tourism
Oman believes that developing domestic tourism through constant efforts to enhance its international presence is of paramount importance. The MoHT pointed out that the number of domestic tourism development projects that are being implemented through the executive programme of the recovery plan and by the governorates has reached 24 projects with a value of RO 16.6 million.
While work is underway on 14 projects to develop and invest in heritage sites and historical monuments, with a current investment value of RO 13.8 million, the number of projects to improve museums and private heritage houses reached 8 projects, with an investment value of RO 17,000, and the number of projects for establishing museum exhibition halls in castles and forts reached 6 projects, at an investment cost of RO 45,000.
To conclude, extensive preparations are also underway to invest in 34 historical landmarks with an investment value of RO 1.884 million, which include several forts, towers, walls, lanes and other monuments in various governorates, which are allocated as investment opportunities for Small and Medium Enterprises (SME’s)
There are several local tourism development projects being implemented directly by the governorates within the framework of their specialisations and through the governorate development programme, while there is an expectation of providing more requirements for service and tourism facilities to meet the requirements of domestic tourism in the various governorates during the next stage.
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