Leisure & Hospitality Oman hotel revenue up 27% to $397m in 2023 By Pramod Kumar November 7, 2023, 6:54 AM Oman News Agency GCC hotel guests in Oman rose 27.6% year on year to 156,703 by the end of September The revenue of Oman’s 3- to 5-star hotels swelled 26.6 percent year on year to OMR153 million ($397.45 million) during the first nine months of this year, according to the National Centre for Statistics and Information. Hotel guest numbers jumped by 27.3 percent to 1.43 million by the end of September 2023, compared to 1.13 million a year earlier. Room booking by Omanis grew 5.3 percent annually to 499,840, while GCC hotel guest numbers rose 27.6 percent yearly to 156,703. UAE hotel revenue hits $7bn as guest numbers surge 15% Asians and Europeans boost Oman hotel revenue Oman labour reforms raise cost concerns for businesses European hotel arrivals rose 43.4 percent year on year to 41,079. Hotel bookings by Asians grew 43.6 percent to 213,980, while the number of hotel guests from Oceania surged 204.5 percent to 30,898. Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, the UAE’s minister of economy, last month said a GCC-wide tourism visa, which will allow holders to travel across the six Gulf nations – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE – will be introduced next year or 2025.
Oil & Gas Trump’s oil policy ‘problematic’ for Gulf producers, economists warn Gulf oil producers should be worried about President Donald Trump‘s energy policy, economists have warned, as it could widen their budget deficits. Oil prices have already dipped in response to Trump’s pledge on Monday to boost US hydrocarbon production and they could plunge far below the breakeven prices adopted by Gulf governments in their annual […] 4 hours ago
Banking & Finance Saudi bank profits to ride out home liquidity squeeze Saudi banks are “poised for stable profitability” in 2025 despite their continued dependence on international capital markets, say analysts. External debt is likely to build up in the coming years because of high borrowing demand in the kingdom, which the ratings agency S&P Global expects to increase by 10 percent this year, driven by corporate […] 4 hours ago
Transport Suez Canal extension to be operational in first quarter The Suez Canal expansion, which will extend the waterway’s two-way section by 10km, is expected to be operational in the first quarter of 2025, the authority’s chairman has said. Egypt announced on Saturday that the new stretch, near the canal’s southern end and close to Little Bitter Lake, was successfully tested without incident. Osama Rabie, chairman of […] 4 hours ago
Tax Income tax ‘not on the table’ says UAE minister The UAE has no plans to introduce income tax, economy minister Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri has said, dismissing speculation the country was in discussions to end its traditional tax-free status. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the minister also criticised the EU for keeping the Gulf nation on its blacklist of countries […] 3 hours ago
