Sunday 27 / September / 2026
Muscat: The Sultanate of Oman joins the nations of the world in celebrating World Tourism Day, which falls on the twenty-seventh of September each year.
The event is observed this year under the theme "Digital Agenda and Artificial Intelligence to Redesign Tourism," affirming the growing role of modern technologies in developing destinations, enhancing the visitor experience, raising the efficiency of the tourism sector and reinforcing its resilience in the face of change and crises.
This year's celebration comes amid accelerating transformations in global tourism, driven by technology, artificial intelligence and data analytics, alongside shifting traveller behaviour, rising demand for authentic and sustainable experiences, and the ease of accessing information, services and bookings through digital platforms.
It likewise comes at a time when geopolitical and economic shifts have demonstrated the importance of building a tourism sector capable of contending with crises, preserving the continuity of air connectivity, diversifying markets and reinforcing traveller confidence.
The Sultanate of Oman continues to develop tourism as one of the principal economic sectors targeted under the Oman Vision 2040, drawing upon its natural, cultural and civilisational diversity and the potentials it possesses, encompassing heritage and archaeological sites, mountains, deserts and beaches, adventure, nature and cultural tourism, and conferences, incentives and sporting events tourism.
Sayyid Ibrahim bin Said Al Busaidi, Minister of Heritage and Tourism, affirmed that World Tourism Day represents an occasion to renew commitment to building a sustainable and competitive tourism sector, maximising its contribution to the national economy and broadening its developmental and social impact across the various governorates of the Sultanate of Oman.
The minister said that the tourism sector represents one of the principal pillars of economic diversification in the Sultanate of Oman, and that the Ministry is working to develop it according to an integrated vision that balances economic growth with the preservation of heritage, Omani identity and culture, the protection of natural resources, and the enhancement of local communities' benefit from the opportunities the sector provides.
He added that World Tourism Day comes this year amid accelerating digital transformations in the tourism industry, explaining that the Ministry's approach is not confined to the use of technology in promotion, but extends to redesigning the tourist's journey from the stage of research, planning and booking through to the visitor's experience, movement and enjoyment of tourism services and products across the various governorates.
The minister explained that artificial intelligence and data analytics offer vast opportunities to understand markets more precisely, design programmes and experiences suited to visitors' interests, raise the efficiency of promotional campaigns, improve the management of tourism flows, and direct investments towards the products and destinations most capable of achieving sustainable economic and social value.
He said that the sector's success is not measured by the number of arrivals alone, but by the average length of stay, the volume of tourism spending, occupancy rates, the distribution of tourism movement across governorates and seasons, and the number of jobs and businesses the sector generates. Our goal is for tourism development to be reflected directly in the national economy and local communities.
The Minister of Heritage and Tourism noted that the coming phase will witness a greater focus on integration between promotion, air connectivity, investment, the quality of products and services, and the ease of digital booking. He affirmed that reaching the targets for arrivals to the Sultanate of Oman by international travellers by 2030 requires a broad national partnership and continuous coordination among government entities, the private sector, governorates, airlines, airports, hotel establishments and small and medium enterprises.
Azzan bin Qassim Al Busaidi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism for Tourism, affirmed that the Ministry is working to translate the tourism sector's targets into executive programmes and measurable performance indicators, encompassing the monitoring of the performance of target markets, the enhancement of air connectivity, hotel occupancy rates, the improvement of tourism products and experiences, and the raising of the efficiency of tourism promotion.
He said that the results of the first seven months of 2026 reflect the ability of the tourism sector in the Sultanate of Oman to maintain its stability despite regional and international changes. He added that the growth in arrivals holding tourist visas by approximately 7 percent represents a positive indicator of the effectiveness of promotional efforts and the diversity of target markets.
He said that the Ministry is working with partners to convert growth in arrival numbers into greater economic value, by increasing the length of stay and average spending, connecting the visitor to a greater number of tourism experiences and products in the governorates, and improving the ability of tourism establishments and small and medium enterprises to reach visitors and market and book their products digitally.
He affirmed that regional indicators show that the continuity of air connectivity, the speed of restoring traveller confidence and the diversification of tourism markets are not merely operational factors, but essential elements for protecting the tourism sector and ensuring the sustainability of its growth.
He noted that the Gulf market represents one of the most important tourism markets for the Sultanate of Oman, given its geographical proximity, cultural similarity and ease of access, explaining that work continues on developing campaigns and offers targeting families, youth and those interested in adventure tourism, linked to seasons, events, official holidays and weekends.
Indicators from the World Travel and Tourism Council point to the growing economic importance of the tourism sector in the Gulf Cooperation Council states, as the GCC states' share reached approximately 5 percent of total tourist numbers globally during 2025, while they captured some 6.9 percent of global tourism revenues.
The rise in the GCC states' share of revenues compared with their share of tourist numbers indicates the ability of Gulf destinations to attract segments with higher spending, and the region's possession of diverse, high-value hotel and tourism products.
The total direct and indirect contribution of tourism to the GDP of the GCC states reached approximately 11.4 percent during 2025, compared with a global average of 10.3 percent.
The direct and indirect economic value of the tourism sector in the GCC states reached some USD 254.7 billion, equivalent to 2.2 percent of the global economic value of the tourism sector, estimated at some USD 11.7 trillion.
The sector also contributed to providing some 4.5 million jobs in the GCC states, representing 13.6 percent of total jobs, compared with a global average of 10.9 percent, while the tourism sector provided some 371 million jobs globally.
Tourism's contribution to the GDP of the GCC states achieved an average annual growth of 7.3 percent during the period from 2019 to 2025, against a global average of 6.7 percent, reflecting the rapid growth of the Gulf tourism sector and its capacity to support economic diversification policies.
Data indicate that the total arrivals to the Sultanate of Oman during the period from January to July 2026 reached approximately 2.152 million arrivals, compared with some 2.164 million arrivals during the same period of 2025, a slight decline of 0.56 percent, reflecting relative stability in performance amid regional challenges, flight disruptions and rising travel costs.
Arrivals holding tourist visas recorded growth of 6.9 percent, reaching approximately 1.308 million arrivals, compared with some 1.224 million arrivals during the same period last year, an increase of close to 84 thousand arrivals.
Arrivals holding tourist visas represent approximately 60.8 percent of total arrivals, while arrivals from the GCC states constituted some 36.5 percent, and arrivals via cruise ships close to 2.8 percent.
Conversely, the number of arrivals from the GCC states declined by 7.1 percent, and arrivals via cruise ships fell by 38 percent, confirming the importance of intensifying programmes directed at the Gulf market, developing offers linked to weekends, official holidays and events, alongside reviewing cruise ship programmes and enhancing their economic return.
The results achieved by the Sultanate of Oman acquire additional significance in light of the conditions witnessed by tourism in the region during 2026.
Regional indicators showed a 14 percent decline in international tourist numbers in the Middle East during the first quarter of 2026 compared with the same period of 2025, while the average decline in flight movement in the region reached some 50 percent during the period from February to May 2026.
Estimates indicate that flight disruptions and the decline in traveller confidence led to an estimated drop in tourism spending in the region of some $600 million daily during the peak of the disruptions, while the movement of an estimated 526,000 passengers daily through a number of major airports and air hubs in the region was affected.
These indicators confirm that the speed of containing crises, restoring air connectivity and reinforcing traveller confidence are among the decisive factors in protecting the tourism sector and accelerating its recovery.
International experiences likewise show that destinations that intervened early by supporting air connectivity, implementing confidence-restoring campaigns and diversifying markets were able to significantly shorten the recovery period, compared with destinations that contented themselves with waiting for demand to return of its own accord.
Indicators of the strength of Gulf passports reflect the broadened ability of citizens of the GCC states to access international destinations, enhancing the opportunities available for developing intra-regional tourism and designing joint, multi-destination programmes.
According to cumulative indicators up to 16 July 2026, the proportion of destinations accessible to the Omani passport out of a total of 227 global destinations rose by a growth rate of 19.7 percent compared with 2016, while the ranking of the Omani passport advanced by nine places during the same period.
The remaining passports of the GCC states recorded varying progress; the UAE passport advanced 36 places, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 15 places, the State of Qatar 12 places, the Kingdom of Bahrain 10 places, and the State of Kuwait six places.
These developments represent an opportunity to enhance intra-Gulf tourism, develop a shared calendar of events, facilitate visitor movement, and promote the region as a set of integrated destinations, not merely competing ones.
The theme of World Tourism Day 2026 reflects the importance of moving from the traditional use of technology to building an interconnected digital tourism ecosystem that relies on data in decision-making and facilitates the visitor's access to information, services and experiences.
The Ministry of Heritage and Tourism is working to enhance digital transformation in the sector by developing electronic services, improving the integration of tourism data, raising the efficiency of measuring the results of promotional campaigns, and strengthening the presence of Omani products and experiences on local and global booking and distribution platforms.
Artificial intelligence applications can likewise support the sector by analysing demand trends, forecasting seasons and promising markets, personalising tourism content and offers, providing multilingual digital assistants, improving the management of sites and tourism flows, and measuring visitor satisfaction in real time.
The Ministry affirms the importance of the responsible use of modern technologies, the preservation of data privacy and security, ensuring the accuracy of information, and reinforcing the role of the human element in delivering a tourism experience that reflects the values of authentic Omani hospitality.
The Ministry continues, in cooperation with the governorates, the relevant authorities and the private sector, to develop destinations, prepare sites and create new experiences, in a manner that contributes to distributing tourism movement across the various governorates, reducing seasonality, and increasing local communities' benefit from tourism activity.
Development efforts include supporting products linked to heritage, culture, crafts, creative industries and Omani cuisine, developing adventure, nature and mountain village trails, and empowering small and medium enterprises to offer authentic experiences capable of being booked and marketed.
New tourism and hotel projects also contribute to increasing absorption capacity, diversifying accommodation options, attracting different segments of visitors, and providing direct and indirect investment and employment opportunities.
Indicators and international experiences highlight six principal pillars for reinforcing the tourism sector's capacity to contend with change, namely containing crises at an early stage, rebuilding traveller confidence through effective communication and accurate information, preserving the continuity of air connectivity, enhancing Gulf coordination, raising readiness for crisis management, and diversifying tourism markets to reduce the risks of reliance on a limited number of markets.
These pillars affirm the importance of a permanent mechanism for monitoring changes, measuring their repercussions on bookings, flights and markets, and preparing advance operational scenarios that allow rapid intervention when needed.
