Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Ramadan 17, 1445 H
broken clouds
weather
OMAN
23°C / 23°C
EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Some sectors see recovery, others slow

1574221
1574221
minus
plus

Even as more activities were allowed to open under the eight package last week, businesses across sectors in Oman still have some distance to travel.


“While the service sector has limped back to normal with most offices reporting full attendance, sectors such as retail and hospitality are still in the recovery phases.”


Food courts and restaurants have been allowed dine-ins, but many of them are still struggling due to staff shortages. Some of them even have to bring down shutters as they were not able to sustain the extended lockdown and travel restrictions.


“During the lockdown, some of our expatriate staff were forced to go on long leave. Now businesses have resumed, but their return has been delayed for various reasons’’, said an executive of a restaurant chain that operates from food courts.


“The company is adopting a wait and watch policy and they do not want to bring all staff at one go and get the employees only as per the requirements’’, he said.


Mohammed al Balushi, HR manager of a hospitality and restaurant brand, said, “The reasons are multi-fold, which include the business models have changed over the past year. Online business has come of age, and it does not require the same number of employees as before. Also, as per the government guidelines to prevent the spread of the virus, social distancing rules limit the need for staff in full strength.”


The reality is that that people are still mindful of visiting restaurants, coffee shops that are crowded with customers.


Some sectors, like logistics and retail, have recovered well but the volume of business is nowhere near the pre-COVID levels.


“Business picked for us in the last quarter as the shipments of essential items and medical supplies improved during this period,” said J Abraham, who is involved with a shipping company.


Travel restrictions, PCR tests, and quarantine requirements are also stopping people from making advance plans for the moment, leading to the slow recovery of the tourism sector, which generally has a peak season between November and April.


Also for erratic salaries and uncertainties, the high-end retail brands are expected to take more time to win back consumer confidence.


SHARE ARTICLE
arrow up
home icon