Tourism

New $350m city planned in southern Oman to attract tourists

March 11, 2025, 3:59 AM

Salalah is cooler and greener than the rest of the Arabian peninsula in the summer, when it catches the seasonal monsoon rains

Promotional push for Salalah
12,000 new villas and apartments
‘The tropical city of Arabia’

Oman is planning to build 12,000 villas and apartments in the southern coastal town of Salalah as part of a drive to attract tourists.

The $350 million development, which will be able to house 60,000 people, will cover 7.3 sq km and also include parks, a marina and retail and hospitality space.

Construction of the Salalah New City waterfront development, which has been designed by the Boston, Massachusetts-based design firm Sasaki, will begin as early as July.

Salalah, 800km south of Oman’s capital, Muscat, is cooler and greener than the rest of the Arabian peninsula in the summer, when it catches the seasonal monsoon rains in the Indian Ocean. That makes it a destination for domestic and regional tourists.

Oman is struggling to compete with neighbours such as Dubai to attract regional and international tourists, a sector it has prioritised to offset declining oil production and provide jobs for the future.

“It is a good initiative to build more hotels and resorts but we should not just rely on regional tourists from the Gulf countries,” said Khamis Al-Saifi, owner of Oman Adventure Tourism.

“We need to reach out to attract European and Asian markets by advertising in their countries to fill up these resorts and hotels.”

The government is promoting Salalah as the tropical city of Arabia in several European and Asian countries.

In December, Oman’s two airlines doubled the number of flights from Muscat to Salalah to twice daily. Most of Oman’s population lives in Muscat and the northern coastal region. Dubai is about one hour’s flight away.

Nationally, the number of visitors to Oman fell by almost 3 percent to 3.9 million last year, Oman’s National Centre for Statistics and Information said.

In sharp contrast, both Dubai and Saudi Arabia recorded 9 percent increases in visitor numbers, while Qatar reported a 25 percent rise. Bahrain and Kuwait have yet to release their 2024 statistics.

Naifeen Al Bahrani, director of Jumaana Travels, a tourism company based in Muscat, said: “Oman must invest in better domestic connectivity to take tourists around once they arrive.

“It is not enough to build resorts, then tourists struggle to reach beauty spots like the waterfalls, streams and historical sites which a city like Salalah has in abundance.”