Tourists in Oman: Stays and F&B top spending

Muscat: The expenditure of inbound tourists in the country has been increasing over the last four years, during the period between 2024 and 2020.

According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the expenditure of tourists increased from RO183,879 in 2020 to RO989,107 in 2024, and of these, 307,115 were spent on air transport services, 212,504 on accommodation services, and 132,701 on food and beverage (F&B) services.

The expenditure of domestic tourists increased from 555,077 in 2020 to 833,837 in 2024, and of these, 225,446 on accommodation services, 323,078 on food and beverage-serving services, and 100,662 on shopping.

As of 2024, there are 1,031 hotels in the Sultanate of Oman with 35,948 rooms, employing 23,873 people.

There are 7,686 Omanis employed compared to 16,187 expatriates in the hospitality sector.

Tourism-related activities generated revenues of RO1,846,324 in 2024, of which 367,391 were from hotel activity, 15,801 from real estate activities of leased property, restaurants (446,880), road transport (155,254), air transport (443,667), transport equipment rental (22,777), travel agencies and other reservation services (368,694), and cultural services (25,860).

As of 2024, there are 29 five-star hotels, including 16 in Muscat, two in North al Batinah, and one in South al Batinah, two in Al Dhakiliyah, and eight in Dhofar.