Indian nationals dominated the number of Asian tourists coming to the Sultanate of Oman in 2022, according to the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism (MoHT).
The ministry said that of the 2.9 million tourists who visited the country in 2022, 1,337,559 were from UAE and 335,459 from India followed by Germans (81,829), Britons (63,570), Iranians (48,835), French (44,815), Saudis (42,770), Americans (37,087), Chinese (31,704) and Italians (29,986).
According to sources in the industry, "The ease of getting affordable tourist visas, robust air connectivity, and large expatriate population, including GCC residents, certainly encouraged more Indian nationals to explore the Sultanate of Oman and other countries in the region."
Asma al Hajri, Deputy Director General of Tourism Promotion, said, "2021-22 was an exceptional year for tourism due to lockdowns, but the fact is that the 2.9 million tourists we received in 2022 are only 16 per cent away from figures of 2019 when we received around 3.5 million tourists. Travel bookings by our partners in the GCC and Europe suggest that Q1 of 2023 will be healthier compared to 2022."
Asma added, "There were several roadshows and trade fairs in which the ministry participated and that also helped last year."
The total revenues of the hotels in the Sultanate of Oman in 2022 were RO186 million.
It may be noted that total revenues of three to five-star hotels increased by 50.8 per cent to RO20,790,000, while the occupancy rate recorded a growth of 31.3 per cent to reach 53.7 per cent, compared to 40.9 per cent during the same period in 2022.
The number of guests in three to five-star hotels until the end of January 2023 was 173,313, an increase of 65 per cent compared to the same period in 2022.
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