Saturday 12 / April / 2025
Muscat: The Ministry of Heritage and Tourism continues its efforts to develop Oman’s tourism sector by fostering partnerships with foreign companies, organising promotional events, and supporting innovation in tourism marketing.
It is also actively enhancing the role of tourism representation offices in strategic markets to achieve sustainable growth for the sector and boost its contribution to the national GDP.
The Ministry has achieved significant milestones in promoting Oman’s tourism, having implemented 235 promotional campaigns targeting Arab, Asian, and European markets.
These campaigns have resulted in an estimated financial return of OMR95.65 million and strengthened Oman’s presence on the global tourism map. Additionally, 88 media campaigns conducted between 2021 and 2024 generated financial returns of approximately OMR202.56 million, highlighting the effectiveness of the marketing strategies.
Saada bint Abdullah Al-Harthiya, Director of Market Development at the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism, emphasised that these campaigns are part of efforts to attract tourists from diverse international markets and enhance relations between local and foreign tourism entities.
They aim to promote Omani tourism products, experiences, and facilities, showcasing key developments in the sector while exploring ways to capitalise on them to advance the Ministry’s objectives.
Al-Harthiya added that the Ministry is focused on developing targeted tourism markets by expanding new ones and maintaining existing markets in line with its strategic recommendations.
This involves monitoring and assessing promotional activities carried out by tourism offices, as well as fostering cooperation with tourism companies in these markets.
Through workshops and annual training programmes, the Ministry aims to empower local tourism partners, supporting Oman’s global tourism presence.
Expanding its network of representation offices, the Ministry now oversees 11 offices covering 26 tourism markets.
A tender has been issued to establish a new representation office in Madrid, Spain, expected to be operational by mid-2025.
Another tender is underway for a Singapore office, covering markets in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, also anticipated to be functional by mid-year.
These offices are set to promote Oman’s tourism potential and attract visitors, enhancing the sector’s contribution to the GDP.
The Ministry has also activated new markets, such as Russia, through a representation office in Moscow, bringing over 44,000 Russian tourists by the end of 2024. This year, a representation office in China was launched, resulting in more than 73,000 Chinese tourists visiting Oman in 2024.
In the Gulf markets, the Ministry has organised events like the “Welcome to Dhofar” initiative, which showcased the region’s attractions, including the “Al Sarb” season and winter tourism.
With the participation of Saudi Arabian tourism companies, this initiative strengthened bilateral cooperation and highlighted Dhofar’s unique offerings.
For 2025, the Ministry plans to implement 84 promotional campaigns, 46 media campaigns, and 19 external advertising initiatives. It aims to organise 43 familiarisation trips for companies and 55 media familiarisation trips, develop support platforms for target markets, and offer training programmes in areas like digital marketing, sustainability, and AI.
