Muscat - The Director of the Vision 2040 Office at the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism (MHT) emphasized that the heritage and tourism sectors in the Sultanate of Oman achieved high rates in their annual plans, which are consistent with Oman Vision 2040 objectives, while the volume of the planned and ongoing investments till the year of 2025, amounted to RO 2.7 billion, including RO 2.3 billion, classified as confirmed investments.
Dr. Rashid bin Saleh Al Hinai, Director of Oman Vision 2040 Office at the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism, said during the first quarter of this 2023, many indicators and targets of the heritage and tourism sectors were approved, such as targeting the value of investments in the sector to reach RO 3 billion for the period of 2021-2025,
raising the number of hotel rooms to be not less than 33,000 by the end of 2025, and raising the value of the tourism sector’s contribution to the gross domestic product GDP to RO 920 million by 2025, to represent 2.75% to 3% of GDP.
It should be noted that the contribution percentage of the tourism sector to the GDP, at constant prices in 2021 reached 2.4 percent, according to the statistical data issued by the National Center for Statistics and Information NCSI.
The investment program of the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism includes more than 440 diversified investment projects, as the volume of investments in the implemented and planned projects for the period of 2021-2025 amounted to about RO 2.7 billion, about RO 2.3 billion out of which, are confirmed investments.
In accordance with this investment program, the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism periodically follows up on projects based on the relative importance of these projects and on the size of the investment related to them, placing more focus on projects that cost RO 5 million or more, as well as focusing on projects that support the empowerment of local tourism.
Among the most important investments that are being monitored through this program are the investments related to the integrated tourism complexes, as the value of the planned investments for the period 2021- 2025 amounted to about RO 1.5 billion, while one of the most prominent integrated tourism complex agreements that were signed during this year is the agreement to develop the Mandarin Oriental Project in the Governorate of Muscat.
MHT issues approvals for private projects, based on submitting of supply and demand study, where 10 new approvals were granted during the first quarter of this year 2023.
It should be noted that the number of hotel rooms in the country till the end of the first quarter of 2023, reached 30,559 rooms.
As for the new projects on the lands belonging to the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism, the targeted plan during 2023 is to sign 25 usufruct contracts through a direct contracting system and to offer a number of investment opportunities to compete for it among private sector companies.
On the index of preserving heritage and culture, the Sultanate of Oman is currently preparing a file to include the archaeological site of Bisya and Salut in the World
Heritage List.
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
