MHT to redesign, transform major tourist destinations
Muscat: Tourism has fully recovered from the repercussions of the pandemic, but the private sector is still dealing with issues such as financial debt that was incurred around that time.
Azzan bin Qasim al Busaidi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism for Tourism, while speaking at the Omani Economic Association's dialogue session at the Cultural Club in Qurm added that the new projects by the ministry for this year include the transformation of the White Mountain ranges, Ras al Hadd, the Muttrah Waterfront Road, dunes in the North and South al Sharqiyah Governorates, Al Jabal Al Akhdar, the coastal road between Quriyat and Sur apart from the development of the Ibri Cave.
He said the number of hotel facilities was around 1,000 facilities at the end of 2024, the volume of investments in the tourism sector has been around RO2.4 billion, and added that there are more than 1,500 establishments that practice the activity of accommodation and operate without a license and the ministry have been correcting the statues of these establishments.
The Sultanate of Oman has reopened the tourism representative office in China to target Chinese tourists
The government seeks to raise the contribution of the tourism sector to 5.9% of the GDP by 2040, which will also help contribute to enhancing economic diversification and providing more job opportunities for young people in the tourism, hotel and hospitality sectors, and other related sectors.
The Ministry of Heritage and Tourism hopes to contribute around 2.75% to the GDP at constant prices in 2025 with investments of RO3 billion for the period from 2021 to 2025, and the number of hotel rooms on offer will be 33,000 hotel rooms by the end of the year.
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