Oman expects tourism sector investments at $7.9bn by 2025

Oman News Agency

Oman expects to add OMR700 million ($1.84 billion) worth of new hospitality projects, taking the total investment in the tourism sector to OMR3 billion by 2025, said the ministry of heritage and tourism.

The ministry has approved 363 projects across the country with a total value of OMR2.29 billion between 2021 and 2025, state-owned Oman News Agency reported.

Salim Mohammad Al Mahrouqi, minister of heritage and tourism, said the hospitality industry is one of the potential sectors to achieve economic diversification.

The minister pointed out that the integrated tourism complexes represent the largest volume of investment in the sector. As many as 12 integrated tourism complexes with an investment value of OMR3.9 billion are currently under development.

Another package of integrated tourism complexes in Muscat, Musandam and South A’sSharqiyah with an estimated total investment value of OMR2.5 billion is being studied.

Further, several projects are being planned at Halanaiyat and Dimaniyat Islands with an estimated investment cost of OMR137 million by 2025.

Al Mahrouqi stated that 124 hotels had been developed between 2021 and 2022, worth OMR139 million.

In addition, there are 120 hotel projects (with an investment cost of less than OMR5 million per project), totalling OMR48.08 million.

The minister said that 127 new hotel projects worth OMR340 million are under construction, including 14 hotel projects, ranging from 3- to 5-stars and hotel apartments, with a total investment of OMR238 million.

In the first 11 months of 2022, the number of visitors arriving in the country reached 2.5 million, according to data from the National Centre for Statistics and Information. 

This is expected to reach 2019 numbers (3.5 million) by 2024, according to Said Harib Al Obidani, director general of tourism development at the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism.

The sultanate’s plans for tourism are directed through its National Tourism Strategy 2040, launched in 2016. 

Strategic objectives include generating 500,000 jobs, of which 75 percent will be Omani nationals; attracting OMR20 billion in investments, over 85 percent from the private sector; achieving 11.7 million domestic and international tourists, and targeting and developing 80,000 hospitality keys.