Muscat, In recent years, the Sultanate of Oman
has laid particular emphasis on the development and promotion of the
tourism sector considering its importance as a promising sector and an
important contributor to the national economy. The country aims to
increase the contribution of tourisms sector to GDP by actively seeking
to attract more inbound tourists and reaching more markets that are
diverse. Given the current geopolitical climate, Oman can not only
market itself as a safe and tranquil destination but also compete with
other GCC states seeking to boost their own share of tourism
revenues.
As part of the World Tourism Day, which falls on September 27, the
National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) has prepared a
bulletin covering information and statistical data on the development of
the tourism sector in the Sultanate, in order to review the impact of
tourism in the economy and its contribution towards advancing the
economic development. The bulletin contains indicators for Omani
tourism sector during the period (2013-2017) as well as the application
of Tourism Satellite Accounts (TSA), which represents a new statistic
methodology for organizing the tourism statistics data. All the
necessary statistical data were provided by the ministries, government
bodies and private institutions. The Royal Oman Police, the Ministry of
Tourism and Oman Airports Management Company have also extended
their supportive efforts.
The bulletin summarizes all the data under five General Indicators
of Tourism Statistics for the years 2013 2017, namely, Inbound
Tourism, Outbound Tourism, Tourism satellite Account, Accommodation
Services, and Salalah Tourism Season’s Visitors.
According to NCSI statistics, the number of visitors to the Sultanate
nearly doubled during the last five years from 2013 to 2017. The
percentage of visitors per day rose 1.6% to 885,810 visitors in 2017
compared to 2016. The total inbound tourism expenditure reached RO
342.3 million in 2017, a 6.1% increase over RO 322.5 million in 2016,
with the average expenditure per visitor reaching RO 105.1. This is a
significant increase of 4.5% compared to 2016 when the total
expenditure per visitor totaled RO 100.6. Accommodation services
accounted for 34.0% of inbound tourism expenditure, followed by air
transport services at 27.5%, food and beverages services at 15.1%,
and shopping at 11.4%.
The total number of outbound tourism rose by 48.1% between 2013
and 2017, totaling 6.4 million. Total outbound tourism expenditure
reached RO 462.7 million in 2017, which was a 5.6% decrease over RO
490.3 million in 2016.
In 2017, total tourism production in Oman totaled RO 1.25 billion, of
which RO 342.3 million, or 27.4%, was from inbound tourists, while the
remaining RO 909.1 million, or 72.6%, was derived from domestic
tourism. This figure included receipts from the national carrier, Oman
Air, and travel agencies regardless of the final destination.
Total direct value added reached RO 728.3 million in 2017, which
was a 1.9% increase over RO 714.9 million in 2016. The year 2015
witnessed a significant increase in direct value added from RO 689.5
million in 2014 to RO 732.2 million in 2015. This increase is due to the
increase in value added of some activities, as restaurants activity.
In 2017, the total number of hotels reached 359, which consisted of
17 five-star hotels, 24 four-star hotels, 26 three-star hotels, 49 two-star
hotels and 243 units classified as others, which includes one-star
hotels, unclassified hotels, guesthouses and hotel apartments. Since
2013, the number of five-star hotels has actually increased from 12 to
17, while the number of four-star hotels grew from 22 to 24, while the
number of three-star hotels dropped from 28 to 26 and the number of
two-star hotels dropped from 52 to 49, while other accommodations
increased from 152 to 243.
The total revenue generated from Hotel activity reached RO 236.0
million, with a growth of 2.5% in 2017. In recent years, hotel occupancy
rates in the Muscat Governorate have also slightly lower from 61.0% in
2013 to 55.3% in 2017.
The total number of visitors during the Salalah Tourism season
reached 645 thousand in 2017, a decrease of 1.2% compared to the
number of visitors in 2016, which reached 653 thousand visitors.
However, there was a 26.8% jump in total visitors between 2015 and
2016 from 515 thousand to 653 thousand. Of the total visitors in 2017,
71.1% of visitors were Omani, followed by 8.9% from the UAE.
The number of visitors from the GCC increased by only 2.9% in
2017 compared to the high growth recorded in 2016 of 40.4%. The
number of visitors from Kuwait decreased by 15.1% in 2017 while
visitors from Saudi Arabia increased by 23.9%.
The total expenditure for visitors during the Salalah Tourism season
was RO 66.3 million in 2017, an increase of 1.0% compared to RO 65.7
million in 2016. The total number of nights spent in Salalah during
Salalah Tourism season was 4.35 million nights in 2017, a decrease of
1.1%, compared to 4.40 million nights in 2016. Omanis accounted for
78.0%, followed by UAE nationals at 9.1% and Saudis at 3.9% during
the Season.
Source: Oman News Agency