March 17, 2006

THE OMANI MINISTER OF TOURISM, DR RAJHA BINT ABDUL AMEER BIN ALI, SHEDS LIGHT ON HER MINISTRY'S CONTRIBUTION TO THE COUNTRY'S DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY. PUBLIC AND PRIVATE INVESTMENTS IN THE TOURISM SECTOR HAVE EXCEEDED RO200 MILLION DURING THE FIFTH AND SIXTH FIVE-YEAR PLANS AND ACCORDING TO PRELIMINARY ESTIMATES, THE INVESTMENT IN THE TOURISM SECTOR IS EXPECTED TO DOUBLE DURING THE SEVENTH FIVE-YEAR PLAN. THE GOVERNMENT OFFERS A PACKAGE OF FACILITIES, INCENTIVES AND TAX EXEMPTIONS TO PRIVATE SECTOR PLAYERS WILLING TO INVEST IN THE TOURISM SECTOR. THE MINISTRY'S CURRENT PLAN INCLUDES A PROJECT OF TOURIST SHIPS AND BUILDING A NEW CENTRE FOR CONFERENCES IN THE MUSCAT GOVERNORATE. In an interview the Minister of Tourism, Dr Rajha bint Abdul Ameer Bin Ali, shed light on her ministry's contribution to the country's development strategy. * What has the Ministry of Tourism achieved since its inception last year? Established in June 2004, the ministry's responsibilities have been defined by a Royal directive. A Royal directive on the organisational set-up of the ministry had been issued by His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said on November 15. Since its inception, the ministry has been working out draft plans to develop the tourism sector in the country as part of the Seventh Five-Year Plan (2006-2010). The drafts have been discussed with the officials concerned at the Ministry of National Economy. The ministry is also working towards updating the tourism strategy. It has also studied the existing tourism marketing strategy and decided to formulate a new strategy. The ministry has made efforts to promote some tourism projects in Muscat and other parts of the Sultanate to attract foreign investments. Several projects are in an advanced stage of study, including one in Ras Al Hadd in the Sharqiyah region. * The ministry has been doing its bit to boost the tourism infrastructure. Can you tell us about the progress this sector is making? Roads, communications systems have been put in place and public service projects of an advanced level have been implemented in all parts of the Sultanate. The tourism sector-specific infrastructure like hotels, restaurants and the entertainment sector have recorded high rate of growth in the past five years. The number of hotels has increased to 147 from 100 in 2000. * The Sultanate has opened the tourism sector for local and foreign players so as to build tourist facilities and resorts. How does your ministry perceive the role of the private sector in tourism? The role of the private sector in the national economy in general and in the tourism sector in particular is vital. We hope the private sector will come forward to invest in different activities in tourism, so the government can focus on infrastructure building and creating a conducive environment. At this stage of tourism sector growth, we see the need for partnership between the public and private sectors. The ministry has built several tourist projects in partnership with the private sector. The government offers a package of facilities, incentives and tax exemptions to private sector players willing to invest in the tourism sector. Keen to attract foreign investment in the tourism sector, the government has allowed foreigners to own properties in tourism projects. * What about conference, exhibition, sports and adventure tourism in the Sultanate? The diversification of tourism products is one of the main points of the tourism strategy, as it attracts a large number of tourists and boosts competitiveness regionally and globally. The ministry attaches importance to this aspect. It has programmes to renovate forts and castles. There are also plans to develop caves to promote adventure tourism. The Al Hootah cave has already been developed to attract tourists. Another project aims at building routes in mountainous areas in the Muscat Governorate and Sharqiyah and Dakhilia regions. Maritime tourism is also catching on. The ministry's current plan includes a project of tourist ships. As far as conference tourism is concerned, we have already started it here and are planning to build a new centre for conferences in the Muscat Governorate. * What is the volume of investment in the tourism sector at present? The past few years have seen a remarkable increase in investment in this sector. Public and private investments in the tourism sector have exceeded RO200 million during the Fifth and Sixth Five-Year Plans. According to preliminary estimates, the investment in the tourism sector is expected to double during the Seventh Five-Year Plan. The efforts of the Sultanate of Oman's ministry of tourism to triple tourism in the country by 2010 have not been in vain. The country is rapidly coming to be regarded by many to be one of the most prominent emerging markets in the GCC and the surge in the Sultanate's popularity in recent years has raised hopes within the tourism sector that the next few years will be a boom time for Oman. Since its inception in 2004, the Omani ministry of tourism has been proactive in driving what it is referred to as the country's "transition". Relaxed visa regulations now make it easier for travellers from 76 nations to visit the country, and the government has been working towards updating the country's tourism strategy as part of its current five-year plan. Among the ambitious tourism plans in the Sultanate is the development of the $800 million resort complex known as The Wave. Built on reclaimed land along the Seeb seafront, the wave will stretch along 7.3km of beachfront west of Muscat and is scheduled to open in 2009. The resort will include three hotels, a golf course, a marina with yacht club and upscale real estate. The western edge of The Wave will accommodate a five-star, 200-room beachfront hotel and spa. A 300-room golf and conference resort nearby will accommodate guests wishing to play at the newly constructed 18-hole golf course, and an additional 505 residential villas will overlook the golf course and the ocean. Further expansion of Oman's tourism industry comes in the form the RO119 million ($308 million) Al Sawadi Tourism project. It is hoped that the resort will provide a strong stand-alone destination for European guests as well as a must-see attraction for tourists from the GCC countries. Located on approximately 34km of land within Oman's Barka region, the Al Sawadi resort will form the first high class traditional Omani-style resort. When completed in 2009, the resort will include various luxury hotels, two 18-hole golf courses, a golf and country club, a family water park, private villas and a multitude of leisure, entertainment and sports facilities. The successful promotion of tourism anywhere relies heavily on the physical attributes that a country has to offer. It is a fact that Oman does have quite a few advantages over other beautiful destinations: it is the friendliest, greenest country in the Arabian peninsula, a part of the world which has never lacked fascination. The trade routes which Omanis founded or followed for centuries probably have something to do with their easy acceptance of strangers. Apart from Portuguese and Turkish dominance of the coastal regions between 1508 and1650, it was the Omanis themselves who extended their territories abroad as far as the fabled Zanzibar which nowadays belongs to Tanzania. The Muscat rulers also established trading posts on the Persian coast and went even to Pakistan. Coveted by both the French and the British (who had seized Oman's overseas possessions) throughout the 19th century, the Sultanate concluded several treaties of friendship with Great Britain. English is therefore widely spoken in Muscat, which tends to make the life of tourists more pleasant. The Ministry of Tourism is engaged in a program of maintaining a considerable number of forts and castles while providing them with the audiovisual means to depict the history of the country. The attractions in Oman, however, do not stop at passive sight-seeing of monuments to its captivating past: the more adventurous should know that coral lined fjords, going as deep as 40 meters, afford some of the best scenery in the diving world. Dolphin, whale watching or surfing are also popular options with visitors, and more options including eco-tourism are being developed. Within the framework of diversifying the economy away from oil, tourism should play an important role. The annual growth rate of the sector's GDP has been of over 3% and the private sector is being seen as a strategic partner with which to capitalize on all the assets the country offers. "We are working on increasing private sector activity in tourism by the introduction of an appealing incentive package on the one hand and encouraging foreign investment on the other hand," said the Minister of Tourism Dr. Rajiha Abdul Ameer Ali. The construction of three top-class hotels at Barr al Jissah was commissioned in joint public -private venture. The idea is that eventually the government role was confined to the development of infrastructure ."We have achieved remarkable progress in the last thirty years in building a network of roads, communications and public utilities all over the country," adds Dr. Rajiha Abdul Ameer Ali. Such infrastructure projects will certainly serve to increase the availability of diverse experience to even the most jaded travellers. Tourism Minister Dr Rajiha bint Abdul Ameer bin Ali has underlined the "positive impact" that the new Barr Al Jissah Resort and Spa will make on Oman's tourism promotion drive. "This is a joint venture between the public and private sectors and marks the beginning of a new phase in tourist investment in Oman," she said, adding that Barr Al Jissah signalled the emergence of a "new generation of resorts which provide wide choices to tourists to spend a pleasant, rewarding and memorable holiday in Oman." Dr Rajiha also said the resort would have a positive impact on the ministry's capacity to meet the expected growth in the number of tourists in 2006. The industrial and tourism strategy of a country has to take account of the special features of the Socio-economic and demographic profile of the country, the aspirations for growth in medium term and long term, and the challenges to be faced in striving to achieve those aspirations. The vision for Oman's economy, up to the year 2020, envisages that within a stable macro-economic framework to be provided by the Government, sustainable development would be achieved by relying on the private sector as the primary engine of growth. A diversified, dynamic and globalised economy is to be established through a strong, efficient and competitive private sector. The industrial strategy of Oman has to respond to the above-mentioned objectives. With a view to reducing dependence on the non-renewable resource of oil, it is imperative to diversify the economy. Manufacturing is one of the main sectors to be relied upon for diversification. It is envisaged that the manufacturing sector which, at present, contributes a little over 5 per cent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Oman should be strengthened and expanded so as to contribute 15 per cent to the GDP by the year 2020. In the small size of the domestic market, rapid growth in the manufacturing sector should inevitably be export oriented. This would require the industries to achieve international competitiveness with a view to achieving integration with the global economy. Inter national competitiveness can be acquired through application of state-of-the-art technology and skilled and well-qualified manpower. Oman, therefore, wishes to follow a pattern of industrialisation which is capital, technology and knowledge intensive. The competitiveness can be further enhanced by use, in an optimum manner, of local raw materials, particularly in the fisheries and minerals sectors, and the abundant natural gas, which would serve as a source of energy and feedstock. Through this approach, high-value-added and export-oriented directions would be followed. The role of foreign investment is recognised in the process of bringing in capital, state-of-the-art technology, as also highly specialised management and marketing skills along with access to export markets. Since about 52 per cent of Oman's population is under 15 years of age, in the years to come, educated Omanis will be entering the labour force in large numbers and will need to be absorbed in productive occupations. Medium-scale industries including service industries will be encouraged to provide scope for employment of the educated and qualified Omanis, and for establishing them as entrepreneurs. Technical collaboration, and foreign capital participation in such medium industries would be most welcome. The objectives for the tourism sector include the encouragement of the role and contribution of the private sector, the development of human resources within the sector and raising the percentage of Oman is in the labour force. This should be achieved by developing hotel management, tourism education and vocational training, and improvement, development and support for the institutional structure responsible for tourism development. These aims have to be achieved keeping in view the fact that the tourism sector's contribution to the GDP has to grow to 5 per cent by 2020. The number of tourists has to increase to more than 728,000 by the year 2020. Meantime the growing importance of ecotourism in Oman and worldwide and the need for cooperation between the government and the private sector to promote it in the most appropriate way is important Dr Rajiha said. Dr Rajiha bint Abdul Ameer bin Ali, Minister of Tourism, pointed out that environmental tourism had emerged the world over as a leading element in drawing holidaymakers. Dr Rajiha revealed that the government would announce a number of new projects to boost the country's tourism sector in the near future. She underlined that the Sultanate had always been "aware of the importance of maintaining a balance between development requirements and protecting the environment." The country's development plans had right from the beginning stressed the need to maintain and protect the environment by adhering to the international standards related to the issue, he said, adding: "Oman has realised since the dawn of its renaissance the importance of balancing the needs of modernisation and protection of environment through a strong and comprehensive strategy that guarantees prosperity for its people. Oman is working to develop the tourism industry and give it priority in future development programmes in order to promote the country's diverse natural and environmental wealth." She added. The Minister said considerable emphasis had also been placed on training human resources and drawing up the necessary legislative and institutional framework. She also highlighted tourism's role in generating job opportunities. Oman truly welcomes travellers. Oman stands as one of the countries where tourists can enjoy a safe environment," says Minister of Tourism Dr. Rajiha bint Abdul Ameer Ali. Oman's tourism potential is enormous and continues to grow. The Tourism Minister Dr Rajha bint Abdul Ameer bin Ali said. "A detailed marketing and advertising strategy has been set in place, which is a prerequisite if any success has to be achieved," she added. "Easing the entry visa regime is constantly discussed and a number of new regulations have been introduced in recent times." According to the minister, Oman is exerting its utmost effort to establish a comprehensive database, work on which is under way, since the beginning of 2005. In this regard, the Ministry is coordinating with the World Tourism Organization and the Ministry of National Economy to build and operate the system of Tourism Satellite Account (TSA). Oman's tourism industry is on a roll. The tourism sector had plenty to celebrate last year. Hoteliers enjoyed strong profitability in 2005. With highest occupancy rates ever and this trend continues to gather greater momentum in 2006. Oman's fast-expanding portfolio of hotels and hotel apartments posted very encouraging performance, wresting the initiative from other tourist destinations in the region. The Sultanate is a leading example of a country that has used its capital from oil and injected it into building the country's infrastructure to provide for its flourishing leisure and business tourism. The Ministry of Tourism has increased international exposure in assured markets and its influence will attract a large number of tourists. The Tourism Minister Dr. Rajiha bint Abdul Ameer bin Ali said: "Tourism is growing in importance and is going to be a principal driver of the country's economic development in the near future. The formation of the Tourism Ministry in 2004 has consolidated Oman's tourism functions into one organisation and the ministry has already introduced several steps to promote tourism industry to grow and prosper. Our policy is to work closely with the private sector to further develop international markets for Oman tourism. We want to make sure that Oman is and continues to be a destination of choice with every world class tourist and traveller."