Local tourists generated 77% of Oman's tourism revenue in 2015

Muscat: Local tourism contributed 77 per cent of the total revenue of the tourism sector in the Sultanate in 2015.
The 9th Five Year Plan (2016 – 2020) has accorded a great attention to this sector due to the roles that it could play to attract foreign investments and create employment opportunities. The data released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) about tourist indicators pointed to an increase in the contribution of the tourism sector in the GDP in 2015 to 2.8 per cent, about OMR748.6 million, compared to 2.2 per cent in 2014.
The statistical figures indicated that the deficit recorded in the tourism balance in the Sultanate in 2015 reached OMR199.7 million, an increase of OMR36.2 million compared to 2014. However, the total tourist production rose 3.9 per cent in 2015 compared to 2014 to hit OMR1.26 billion.
The tourism indicators bulletin referred to a rise in the number of hotels in the Sultanate in 2015, reaching 318 hotels, compared to 235 hotels in 2011, an increase of 35 per cent. The total hotel revenues in the Sultanate reached OMR226.9 million in 2015 and revenues of 5-star hotels constituted 44.2 per cent of the total revenue.
The rise in the number of hotels was accompanied by a rise in the number of employees. The data indicate that the number of workers in these hotels in 2015 increased to 11,054 up by 3 per cent compared to 2014. Omanis constituted 29 per cent of the total number in 2015, and they constituted 33 per cent of the total number in 5-star hotels.
Guests of these hotels rose to 2.7 million in 2015 compared with 2.4 million guests in 2014, which is reflected in the rate of room occupancy in hotels that increased by 50 per cent in 2015 compared to 49.2 per cent in 2014.
The total number of rooms in 2015 also increased by 5.1 per cent compared to 2014.
The total number of expatriate visitors to the Sultanate amounted to about 2.6 million in 2015, up 88 percent compared to 2011. Those visitors spent OMR288.3 million in 2015, a 15 per cent rise compared to 2014. They spent on accommodation 38.1 per cent of their total spending.
The average length of stay of tourists rose to seven nights in 2015 in comparison to six nights in 2011. The GCC visitors constituted 45.5 per cent of the total visitors in 2015.
The tourism indicators show that the visitors departing from the Sultanate reached 5.4 million in 2015, up 62 per cent from 2011. The average length of stay of departing tourists was 21 nights in 2015, compared to 22 nights in 2014.