Analysis Tourism Omani tourism struggles against fierce Gulf competition By Gavin Gibbon February 26, 2025, 2:13 AM Shutterstock A family visits Rustaq Fort in northern Oman. The country's tourism strategy focuses on its historic sites Visitor numbers down 3% in 2024 GCC neighbours doing better Strategy focuses on culture and history Oman’s tourism industry is struggling, at least in comparison with its Gulf neighbours. Last year visitor numbers fell by almost 3 percent to 3.9 million, according to Oman’s National Centre for Statistics and Information. That compares with 9 percent increases for Dubai and Saudi Arabia, and a 25 percent rise for Qatar. Bahrain and Kuwait have yet to release their 2024 statistics. “Oman’s comparatively slower tourism sector growth compared to other GCC countries, especially the UAE and Saudi Arabia” is in large part down to its “focus on cultural, heritage and nature-based tourism rather than a multi-sector approach,” says Mansoor Ahmed, an economic research consultant based in Dubai. The UAE, by contrast, has a more diversified tourism offering that includes shopping and nightlife as well as cultural and historical treasures, Ahmed says. Revenue at Oman’s three to five-star hotels did rise by 6 percent to OR243.4 million ($633 million) last year. But the country will need to almost triple its 2024 visitor numbers to meet the 11 million target in its Vision 2040 economic strategy. The Omani government wants tourism to account for 5 percent of gross domestic product in 2030 and 10 percent in 2040 as it works to reduce its dependence on hydrocarbons. Oman economy The Ministry of Heritage and Tourism is focusing on promoting its cultural and historical treasures – including the five Omani sites on the Unesco World Heritage list, such as Bahla Fort inland from Muscat, the ancient city of Qalhat on the Arabian Sea coast and the so-called Land of Frankincense near Salalah. That strategy shows the distance “between what they want to preserve, which is fair, against what will drive growth” in visitor numbers, says Vishal Pandey, a partner at market intelligence agency Glasgow Research & Consulting. Oman is not only competing for visitors from outside the Gulf but from within it too, according to Ross Curran, associate professor of marketing at Heriot-Watt University Dubai. Chinese tourists visiting Dubai up by a third Luxury travel is the engine of Saudi tourism market Qatar stopover initiative draws thousands more visitors Saudi Arabia is spending billions on infrastructure and tourism facilities to encourage its people to spend their holiday money and time at home rather than abroad. In the UAE, where about three-quarters of residents are non-nationals, the seven emirates are competing with one another to attract local visitors. “The growing popularity of inter-emirate tourism in the UAE, where residents in Abu Dhabi may pursue adventure tourism experiences in Ras Al Khaimah, have brought added opportunity for increased visitor numbers elsewhere,” Curran says. Oman’s tourism authorities are trying to attract those visitors too, starting a year-long campaign of exhibitions, seminars and symposiums in Gulf states as well as in European cities such as London, Paris and Frankfurt. The struggle, though, is likely to be uphill.
