Creating value from local content and Khareef Dhofar

During Khareef Dhofar Season, visitors from across the GCC have the opportunity to experience the green mountainous landscape, cooler climate and vibrant culture brought about by the summer monsoon in Dhofar Governorate. Khareef Dhofar is not only a tourism draw, but also represents the opportunity to develop local content and ensure that Dhofar and the Omani economy benefit from tourism spend.
Local content identifies ways to ensure value from tourism expenditure remains in the country through job, procurement and investment opportunities. Related to Khareef, local content provides an opportunity for the region to transform temporary tourism from economic draw to regional economic development.
From Visitor Spending to Local Economic Value
Khareef attracts thousands of visitors each year. Tourism creates a demand for services that include lodging, meals, entertainment, retail goods and transportation to and from each service. The most crucial of local content questions is: What percentage of this spending remains in Dhofar?
All industries related to tourism including lodging, restaurants, tour operators, shopping centres and government tourism initiatives have the opportunity to increase their local economic value by improving procurement. Examples of local procurement may include foods, services and goods from Omani agriculture, fishing and other industries.
This approach creates a multiplier effect. Spending by tourists supports local businesses which employ Omanis and buy from other local suppliers, generating additional economic activity.
Empowering Dhofar SMEs
Khareef is a great opportunity for Omani SMEs and entrepreneurs. Setting up temporary markets, festival tourism, food outlets, cultural and adventure tourism, doing guided tours; and offering transportation and digital tourism solutions gives young entrepreneurs a chance to start and grow their businesses.
However, participation of SMEs should extend beyond temporary and seasonal markets. A Khareef Local Content Programme should identify SMEs prior to the season, connect them to major tourism operators and hotels, offer business support and facilitate contracts.
Large companies involved in Khareef activities should establish procurement targets for Omani SMEs, especially businesses based in Dhofar.
Promoting Made in Oman
Khareef is a great opportunity to promote Omani products. Frankincense and other products should be available for tourists to purchase along with traditional Omani products, local foods, crafts, agriculture and clothing.
A combination of strategic tourism and market placement, “Made in Oman — Khareef”, will bring producers together enhancing domestic and international marketing.
Local content means more than just local procurement. Employment opportunities in hospitality, tourism, management, digital marketing, tour guiding, events, logistics, customer service and entrepreneurship will allow youth employment and skills development.
Seasonal employment could be linked to structured training and certification so that participants develop skills that remain valuable beyond the Khareef Dhofar Season.
Measuring the Economic Impact
The next part will be to measure the Khareef, not just with visitor numbers and hotel occupancy, but with its local economic impact. This could mean measuring the number of Omanis employed, SME spending, local procurement, locally manufactured goods purchased, the number of Dhofar businesses participating and the total economic value retained in Oman.
Khareef Dhofar is more than a tourism season. With a strong local content framework, it can become an annual engine for SME development, job creation, local manufacturing, entrepreneurship, regional development and sustainable economic diversification.
The goal is to move from measuring the number of visitors, to the number of sustainable visitors and the value they create for the Dhofar region and Oman.