The Ministry of Heritage and Tourism (MoHT) has amended the regulations issued in November 2021 for the purpose of reviewing and evaluating the quality of hotel establishments.
Saeed bin Harib al Obaidani, Director-General of Tourism Development at the MoHT, said that the ministry aims to raise the level of quality of hotels, and efficiency of the hospitality sector, and provide various accommodation options to meet the requirements of citizens, residents and tourists. It will also help increase the number of quality establishments that may contribute to providing more job opportunities for citizens and raise the sector’s contribution to the gross national product.
Al Obaidani said that there are 29,684 hotel rooms as of 2022 in various governorates of the Sultanate of Oman, which is expected to go up to 26,314 by 2025.
The new regulations for the establishment of hotel establishments will be based on compliance with classification and quality standards and the controls specified in the executive regulations of the Tourism Law.
By reviewing and updating these regulations on an ongoing basis, the request submitted to the ministry will also be studied according to the needs of hotel establishments in each governorate, with priority given to reconciling the conditions of the 1,500 unlicensed establishments distributed over all governorates of the Sultanate of Oman.
It may be noted that the government is focusing on a plan for the heritage and tourism sector based on governance, management, capacity building, planning, development and investment, quality, sustainability and competitiveness, local added value, tourism products, and experiences, the labour market, support for local products, and tourism promotion The Oman Botanical Garden is expected to be ready in 2023 while Oman Across Ages Museum will be opened shortly.
The Botanical Garden will have a large collection of plants, including Omani native plants and several facilities for tourists and visitors.
