Muscat – International tourism experts called upon Oman to take maximum advantage of its potential for making the sector one of the major contributors in the country’s economy.
The experts were giving their views at a forum on hotel, travel and leisure conducted by Crowe Oman, under the umbrella of Horwath HTL, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel Muscat on Tuesday.
The meeting – held with an aim to boost prospects of tourism and hotel industry in the country – was presided over by Faisal al Rawas, Chairman of the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industries (OCCI).
Horwath HTL – a member firm of Crowe Global – is a global leader, offering unparalleled experience and expertise exclusively across hotels, tourism and leisure spectrum.
“The contribution of the tourism and hospitality sector to Oman’s GDP is only 2.4 per cent as against the world average of around ten per cent,” pointed out Davis Kallukaran, Managing Partner at Crowe Oman.
“Oman is so unique and blessed with a diversified topography from Salalah to Muscat and every nook and corner of the sultanate is rich in heritage and culture. We should know our strength and our available resources and leverage the strength by technology,” Kallukaran asserted.
According to him, Oman’s tourism sector is expected to grow up to five per cent of the GDP by 2030 and ten per cent by 2040.
“Oman Vision 2040 is expected to invest RO10bn in the tourism sector till 2040 targeting to generate RO9bn from tourism alone,” the Crowe Managing Partner said. Underlining unemployment as Oman’s biggest challenge, he said, “And tourism is the solution.”
With the right attitude, Kallukaran said, the youths of Oman can engage in tourism related activities, which do not need high technical skills. “Every youth in Oman can be self employed in the tourism sector.”
James Chappell, the Global Director at Horwath HTL, highlighted their experiences in this burgeoning sector and scope of services which they can offer to their clients – “from the concept stage through opening and on-going operations”.
“Horwath HTL’s Outdoor Hospitality provides a full range of hospitality consulting services designed to address the unique operating, investment and environmental issues found in the nature-based outdoor sector of the hospitality industry,” Chappell went on explaining.
“From initial location and site analysis, preliminary market research and feasibility work to operator selection, our team has the expertise to assist in new developments and repositioning of existing assets.”
The forum was attended by several hoteliers, investors, financiers and business owners from Oman apart from the officials from the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism and the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion of Oman.
Siniša Topalovi, Global Head of Tourism Advisory, talked about the developments in the region and presented the case studies about the developments in other GCC countries. He commented that Oman has unique advantages in the tourism area and is yet to take full advantage of its huge potential.
Source : MuscatDaily
