Oman sees a growth in visitors in 2026, before the war

Muscat: The Sultanate of Oman saw an increase of 12.6 percent in visitors in the first two months of 2026.

It may be noted that the Iran-US/Israel war started on February 28, which is expected to have a major impact on the global and regional tourism industry.

The Omani airspace and airports operated normally during the course of the war from February 28 until the announcement of the ceasefire on April 7.

The number of visitors jumped from 752,474 this year compared to 668,205 during the same period in 2025, according to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).

The top five nationalities were Emiratis 158,586, Indians 83,621, Germans 42,318, Russians 10,928, and Poles 19,103.

There was an increase of 7.4 percent in the number of visitors coming to Oman only in February.

Most of the visitors were from GCC 103,368, Europe 100,329, and Asia 89,408.

Hotel guests

During the same month, the hotel guests were dominated by nationals of Europe, 83,047, Asia, 27,500, GCC, 8,944, apart from Omanis, 52,799.

In the first two months of this year, hotels received 439,287 guests, who spent 735,861 room nights. Revenues earned from them were RO18.5 million.

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) estimated that the conflict in Iran is already impacting the Travel & Tourism sector across the Middle East by at least US$600 million per day in international visitor spending, as disruptions to air travel, traveller confidence, and regional connectivity affect demand.

The Middle East plays a vital role in global travel, with the region accounting for 5% of global international arrivals and 14% of global international transit traffic. Any disruption affects demand worldwide, which impacts airports and flights, hotels, car hire companies, and cruise lines, WTTC said.

The major regional aviation hubs, including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, and Bahrain, which together normally process around 526,000 passengers per day, have experienced closures and operational disruption as the conflict escalates, significantly affecting regional and global connectivity.

WTTC said its analysis is based on its 2026 pre-conflict forecast for the Middle East, which projected US$207 billion in international visitor spending across the region this year.

Any disruption to travel flows, therefore, quickly translates into substantial economic impact across the tourism ecosystem.

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