Hospitality industry witnesses a surge in jobs

As the average spending by inbound or domestic tourists is centred around accommodation (hotels) and food and beverages, the Sultanate of Oman saw the number of employees in the hotel activity increase during 2022 by 37.3 per cent to reach 20,294 from 14,780 in 2021, according to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).

Of these, 6,642 Omanis working in the hotel industry accounted for 32.7 per cent, an increase of 27 per cent in 2022 compared to 2021, while 13,652 expatriates accounted for 67.3 per cent of the total hotel employees.

Meanwhile, the report said that the spending of inbound tourists is basically focused on accommodation, food and beverage services, road transport, travel agencies, cultural services, and specific tourism goods and services.

Hotels in Muscat Governorate accounted for the largest number of employees (37.9 per cent) at 7,698, followed by 4,421 in Al Sharqiyah North,3,091 in Dhofar and 2,058 in Al Dakhiliyah, among others.

The revenues of the hotel activity during 2022 increased by 82.7 per cent to reach RO224.4 million compared to RO122.8 million in 2021.

The value of hotel room rental income accounted for 61.8 per cent of the total revenues of the hotel activity to reach RO138.8 million during 2022, and the percentage of revenues from food and beverage sales amounted to 22.7 per cent and 8.9 per cent, respectively, while other revenues amounted to 6.6 per cent.

The number of hotels in the Sultanate of Oman increased by 13.1 per cent to reach 674 hotels in 2022 from 412 hotels in 2018, including 27 five-star hotels, 32 four-star hotels, 61 three-star hotels, 66 two-star hotels, while 488 hotels include one-star hotels, unrated hotels, lounges and hotel apartments.

The 674 hotels are distributed across all governorates, with 213 hotels in Muscat, 95 hotels in Al Sharqiyah South, 90 hotels in Al Dakhiliyah, 62 hotels in Al Batinah South, 45 hotels in Al Batinah North and Al Sharqiyah North Governorate and 41 hotels in Dhofar among others.

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