Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Saturday, Aug 30, 2025

Oman reveals ambitious plan to boost tourism

Oman reveals ambitious plan to boost tourism

Oman expects to earn over 9 billion rials ($22.5 billion) a year from tourism by 2040 as it bids to diversify its economy away from oil income.
In an exclusive interview at the Oman-Saudi Arabia Tourism Investment Meeting on Sunday, the sultanate’s Tourism Undersecretary said plans were already under way to set up a cluster of tourism investments nationwide.

“Before the pandemic started, Oman earned about 1.2 billion rials from tourism in 2019. We are now well on the way to reach the target of earning about 9 billion rials a year by the year 2040 from tourism,” Maitha Al Mahrouqi, Undersecretary of Tourism in the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism, told The National.

Al Mahrouqi presided over a joint meeting between Oman and Saudi Arabia to boost tourism investment between the two countries.

One of the economic pillars of Oman 2040 Economic Vision is to increase revenue from tourism. In 2019, Oman welcomed about 3.2 million tourists, up 12 per cent from the previous year.

There are no tourist figures recorded after 2019 since Oman, like the rest of the world, closed its borders in an attempt to limit the spread of Covid-19.

“We are already implementing plans to set up theme parks, nature tourism, water parks and entertainment centres in different parts of the country. We are not only tapping on international tourists but regional tourism as well and Saudi Arabia is a major part of that within the GCC countries,” Ms Al Mahrouqi said.

She said Oman was also keen to attract investment from Saudi Arabia in tourism.

“The visit of His Majesty Sultan Haitham to Saudi Arabia and the visit of Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Oman will certainly boost tourism trade between us,” she added.

Prince Mohammed arrived in Muscat last Monday as part of his tour of GCC countries, during which Saudi Arabian and Omani officials signed 13 agreements.

Saudi Arabia will invest in oil and gas, tourism, green energy, the maritime sector – including ports – overland logistics, telecommunications and an industrial zone.

In July this year, Sultan Haitham visited Saudi Arabia and met King Salman in Riyadh, his first official foreign visit since he became the Sultan of Oman in January last year.

Oman has embarked on an ambitious economic development plan – Vision 2040 – to wean its economy off oil revenue and introduce medium-term measures to rein in its debt, which has grown in recent years.

Loay Sultan, one of the Saudi Arabian delegation members at the meeting at the Kempinski Hotel in Muscat, said the road between Oman and Saudi Arabia was a good start to boost tourism between the two countries.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
×