Overview
Oman’s Tourism Strategy sets out the Sultanate’s plan to develop tourism as a major pillar of economic diversification, targeting a significant increase in tourism’s contribution to GDP and employment by 2040. The strategy leverages Oman’s distinctive competitive advantages including geographic diversity spanning mountains, deserts, coastlines, and fjords, rich cultural heritage, year-round sunshine, and a reputation for safety, hospitality, and authenticity. The plan encompasses product development across multiple tourism segments including cultural and heritage tourism, adventure and eco-tourism, luxury resort tourism, cruise tourism, and meetings and events tourism. Implementation involves infrastructure investment, human capital development, destination marketing, and regulatory reform.
Key Facts
- Targets tourism as a top contributor to GDP and employment by 2040
- Focuses on high-value, sustainable tourism positioning
- Develops multiple segments: cultural, adventure, eco, luxury, cruise, and MICE
- Investment in tourism infrastructure including airports, roads, and accommodation
- Marketing campaigns in key source markets including Europe, India, and GCC
- Hospitality training programmes to build Omani workforce in the sector
- Streamlined visa processes to facilitate international arrivals
Significance for Vision 2040
The Oman Tourism Strategy operationalizes Vision 2040’s identification of tourism as a priority diversification sector. Tourism offers significant advantages for Oman’s development objectives: it is labour-intensive, creating employment at multiple skill levels; it distributes economic activity geographically, supporting balanced regional development; and it generates foreign exchange earnings that reduce dependence on oil revenues. The strategy’s emphasis on sustainability and authenticity differentiates Oman from mass-tourism competitors and aligns with growing global demand for responsible travel. By developing a diverse portfolio of tourism products, the strategy reduces seasonal concentration and geographic imbalance in visitor flows. The human capital dimension is particularly important, as building a skilled Omani hospitality workforce supports both tourism growth and Omanisation targets simultaneously.