Recently published research from Business Monitor International, "Oman Tourism Report Q1 2014", is now available at Fast Market Research

Boston, MA -- (SBWire) -- 01/08/2014 --The Oman Tourism Report analyses the investment potential that Oman offers to large tourist industries, particularly global hotel groups, as they seek to maximise the growth opportunities in the local market. BMI holds a very optimistic stance towards Oman's tourism sector as we enter 2014. The government has earmarked tourism as one of the key sectors that will drive its economic diversification strategy away from a reliance on hydrocarbons. To this end, it has started to take a more active role, managing the development of the industry and attempting to attract foreign investment. The creation of Omran, a state-run company established by the government to deliver major projects and manage assets and investment in the sector, in 2005 was an illustration of the government's assertive approach to boosting investment in tourism.

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BMI expects Oman's tourism sector to boost the country's current account over the coming years. The country is planning significant increases in the national room supply, while airport capacity is set to treble at Muscat and Salalah. While the government's target of tourism accounting for 3% of GDP by 2015 (from 2.4% currently) will likely prove too optimistic, we believe that there is still room for growth. In the absence of monthly tourist arrival figures being released in a timely fashion from the Ministry of Tourism, BMI uses the total number of passengers travelling through Muscat and Salalah International Airport as a proxy. Over 9M13, total passenger traffic (including transit and transfer passengers) through Muscat rose by 10% year-on-year (y-o-y) to 6,224,480 passengers, according to a November 2013 report on The Oman Daily Observer website.

The number of arrival passengers was up by 9% y-o-y, at 3,145,068. However, the number of departing passengers was up by 13%, at 3,042,847. These figures tie in with BMI's own belief that outbound tourism will show a stronger growth rate (+27.6%) than inbound tourism (+18%) over the 2013-2017 forecast period.

According to the Oman Daily Observer report, the rise in passenger traffic through Muscat has been linked to an increase in the number of flights operating out of the airport, not just flag carrier Oman Air but other airlines such as Iran Aseman Airlines, Sri Lankan Airlines and India's low-cost IndiGo Airlines. Over 9M13 a total of 564,622 passengers travelled through Salalah Airport, up by 18%.

Looking at other tourism indicators, the national hotel occupancy rate during 8M13 was reportedly up by 9.6%, to 57.1%, according to figures from hotel consultancy STR Global cited by the Hotel News Now website in October 2013. Average daily rate and revenue per available room were up 4.8% and 14.9%, respectively, in local currency terms. All of which bodes well for 2013 being another strong year for Omani tourism once official full-year data are released in 2014.

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