Six Senses Zighy Bay director of sales and marketing Jad Frem says 2015 was a good year and there was some increment during the peak seasons due to the big effort from Oman Tourism Board to boost the country’s image through a series of roadshow and campaign to its key markets. Certainly, a growth in interest from EU and the Americas led to winter hotel bookings reaching 98% in the Sultanate of Oman last year.
Al Bustan Palace, a Ritz-Carlton Hotel general manager Katrin Herz says tourism in Oman is one of the government’s main focus and there is a great potential to attract new generations of travellers.
Herz says Oman is as a destination is growing, “with newcomers in the luxury industry including some of the top luxury hotel brands”. She adds: “This is undoubtedly a sign that we are evolving in a healthy market.”
Abouyuoussef agrees and says: “For 2016 and even the years after, if we would consider our own project in Salalah as a base for the analysis, you can easily note that the country is going in the right direction. When we started in 2012, we had one hotel of 64 rooms and an average occupancy of 31%. Now we have 700 rooms and an average occupancy of 81% in January 2016.”
Infrastructure and government support
MICE is not in high demand in Oman, but hoteliers are confident that with the opening of the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre, business will thrive. Sona also says that in 2016, the Sultanate’s infrastructure will be in focus. With the opening of the new Muscat International Airport in 2016, he reveals that inbound tourism is expected to increase, and the guest arrival experience will be enhanced, thereby contributing to the “branding” of Oman as a destination. City Seasons Muscat general manager Christian Palacin also refers to the imminent opening of the new Muscat Airport, as helping to lift hotel performance with inbound travel.
“New destinations within the country are growing such as Salalah, and infrastructures are following. We are expecting the extension of our new International Airport in Muscat, an additional feeder for market growth,” Herz adds.
Another development that will facilitate the flow of tourists from the UAE is the main road to Northern Oman, which is currently being expanded into a four-lane highway, reports Sona. This, he says, is important, considering that 85% of summer visitors to Oman arrive by car.
“Southern Oman, on the other hand, has seen the opening of the revamped Salalah Airport terminal. Salalah processed 850,000 passengers in 2014, and an estimated 930,000 passengers in 2015 according to the Oman Airports Management Company,” adds Sona.
Palacin also asserts that Oman’s Ministry of Tourism has heavily pushed Oman as a country with history, culture and Arabian heritage. “Add to this the combination of wonderful climate throughout the year as well as the safety factor that is now lacking in other similar destinations. As for the GCC travellers, they are not influenced by any similar external factor therefore Oman has a nice pull towards Arab families in terms of tradition, safety, Arabic language, good food, and so on.” This will be further helped by the Ministry of Tourism in Oman together with its hospitality partners coming up with a summer campaign to promote the destination in Saudi Arabia, UAE as well as Turkey.
Herz concurs: “The ministry of tourism of Oman is doing fantastic work in reaching out to our main source markets. A greater international visibility for our destination means that we are reaching a larger audience and potentially attracting new segments of travellers. We continue to adapt our services and products to these new travellers.”
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