Oman aims to attract an additional $10 billion in foreign investments to projects in the sultanate's tourism sector as it looks to further diversify its economy away from hydrocarbons, its tourism minister has said.
The country has already received private sector investments worth $10 billion since the end of the pandemic to develop new hotels and integrated tourism complexes (ITCs), which will be inaugurated in 2025. Muscat is currently in talks with investors to raise a similar amount for spending over the next three to four years into hospitality projects, Salim Al Mahrouqi, Minister of Heritage and Tourism, told The National on the sidelines of the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai.
"Maybe its premature now, but there's a possibility we can match the same figure given the projects that have been negotiated or approved," he said. "We are looking to continue attracting foreign investment coming from the region, Russia is another potential [source of FDI] and we're also talking with well-established developers from Egypt," Mr Al Mahrouqi said.
The Sultanate is developing tourist attractions including Unesco World Heritage sites, new museums, a botanical garden that will open its doors to the public by the end of the year, and a maritime museum in the city of Sur to highlight the country's rich seafaring history.
Oman is seeking to develop its tourism sector as part of its Vision 2040 to diversify its economy and cut reliance on oil revenue. Oman, a smaller crude oil producer compared with its Gulf neighbours, is more sensitive to oil price swings and was hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. But the country has bounced back strongly, supported by sharp expansion of its tourism sector.
international tourists
In 2024, Oman recorded 15 million domestic tourists and four million international visitors, exceeding the record levels of 2019. The UAE, the Arab world's second-largest economy, as well as India, Germany and other western European countries were the main tourist source markets for the sultanate.
Oman expects to exceed that number of international tourists this year, potentially reaching 4.5 million by the end of 2025, the minister said. To hit the 2025 forecast, the country will concentrate on new source markets such as Russia, China and South Asia, with plans to double its marketing budget in these areas.
"We have a large number of impressive campaigns in Moscow, Beijing, Singapore and others, where we are focusing more on what distinguishes us from the rest of the region," he said, pointing to Oman's heritage, culture, nature and adventure travel offerings. Its focus will be on high-spending and eco-conscious travellers to ensure sustainable growth.
"We are looking at those potential markets with meaningful financial impact," he said. "Having said that, we are very conscious of maintaining a balance between quantity and quality: the impact on natural resources and infrastructure has to be balanced with the numbers."
Sustainability and in-country value are important to ensure that the benefits of tourism are "spread across the community", without putting a strain on the environment, he added.
Tourism jobs for Omanis
Oman's tourism sector is forecast to contribute 3 per cent of its total gross domestic product (GDP) this year, up from 2.7 per cent in 2024, the minister said. The country is looking into additional options to boost air links with other countries to carry more tourists, amid a continuing restructuring at its national carrier Oman Air.
"We are looking for new venues," the minister said, citing additional charter flights and partnerships with airlines in the Gulf. Developing non-oil sectors such as tourism and aviation is also being done with the aim of creating more jobs for Omanis.
The potential for Omanis in tourism jobs is "huge", with more nationals being enrolled in training programmes. "We'd like to see more Omanis at general manager levels running many hotels and we'd like to see more Omanis running the sector – they're already there," he said.
About 20,000 Omanis are employed in the tourism sector, with an aim of incrementally adding between 4,000 to 6,000 tourism jobs for nationals every year, he added. The current population of Oman is about 5.4 million, according to Worldometer data.
