Five tourism projects in the strategic locations of Oman have been transferred to Oman Tourism Development Company (Omran). They include resorts in Salalah, Al Ashqara, Al Auwayfiyah, the Scientific Centre of Ras al Jinz and Al Hoota Cave.
The agreement for the purpose was signed by Maitha al Mahrouqiyah, Under-Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, and Omran CEO Peter Walichnowski. The purpose of the agreement, according to officials, is to take the established sites to the next level.
“The ministry feels these five projects are ready to be transferred to Omran to be managed in a commercial way,” explained Nafisa Jaafar Mohammed Sulaiman, Consultant — Finance, Under-Secretary Office at the Ministry of Tourism.
“The ministry invested in these projects in the beginning because no one in the private sector or any government company was willing to start similar projects as they did not see these projects as feasible. Now that these projects are ready, it is time for them to be operated in a commercial manner. This is part of the implementation of tourism strategy.”
Khalid bin Mirza, Director of Project Development, Omran, said this agreement is based on His Majesty’s instructions to segregate between legislative and execution policies of the projects. “The purpose of this agreement is for Omran to manage and operate the projects.” Omran, he said, is looking forward to enhancing these facilities in all these locations. This will be achieved with collaboration with the local companies, especially SMEs.
The youth hostels will now be known as ‘Tourism Rest Houses’. “With our expertise in tourism projects, we will make sure all properties are revamped to meet people’s expectations. We have seen on social media how people like to explore Oman. We will be involved in revamping, enhancing, and developing facilities in and around these locations,” Khalid said.
According to the Director of Project Development, these projects are not being developed to meet the standards of 4 and 5-star resorts, but specifically designed for budget spenders.
“We will be catering to this particular segment. Most of the locations we have taken over now are in close proximity to sites for adventure tourism. We will be seeing a lot of people, especially youngsters and the middle-aged, in addition to backpackers,” said Khalid.
The projects will see the private sector being engaged at various levels, especially SMEs. “We would like to have the SMEs take up some of the responsibilities as it is a great opportunity for them to venture out into hospitality business. We have already received interest from various companies but it has to be done through a proper process.”
Khalid said: “We will be calling for expression of interest that will be announced in the newspapers. They will be evaluated according to their capabilities and experience. Hopefully by the third quarter of 2018, we will have an operator on board.”
Lakshmi Kothaneth
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
