Oman is benefiting from instability in the Middle East.
Figures indicate that regional instability has helped the nation expand income from its tourism industry by more than 15 per cent in the first four months of 2013.
Data released by STR Global, said, ‘Due to various reasons, tourists do not prefer Egypt and Syria. When compared to these places, Oman is safe and calm. It can be termed a relaxed destination. When compared to other tourist spots in the region, the locations in Oman are still virgin.’
Omanese tourism authorities said that the nation had a lot to offer tourists, which is a big reason for developing this revenue stream in the nation. Muscat is believed to have reported the strongest growth in the region.
Elizabeth Winkle, managing director of STR Global, a firm that offers statistics on the tourism industry, said, ‘The factors for performance include strong occupancy growth of 14.0 per cent to 77.3 per cent, while an already solid ADR increased 1.1 per cent to USD248. Oman has benefited from tremendous interest from the corporate sector with significant infrastructure investment and projects, such as Duqm Port. The corporate demand is coupled with strong leisure business, which is up 25.0 per cent.’
Data compiled by STR Global also showed that the Middle East and Africa region reported positive performance during April 2013.
Analysts also said that Oman has gained from the instability in Syria, Lebanon and other nations which have seen unsurprisingly negative effects from the Arab Spring.
Winkle said, ‘Beirut has struggled during the first four months of the year with RevPAR declines of (-31.0 per cent). Lebanon’s tourism industry continues to suffer because of the political instability in Syria and has recently appealed to its Gulf Cooperation Council neighbours to lift the travel advisory to Gulf nationals.’
