The last outpost of authenticity - Oman’s hospitality scene

7 June 2016



With a number of high-profile international arrivals within Oman’s hospitality scene, the government’s public-private financial model, which is aimed at driving investment, appears to be working. Sarah Williams speaks with Thierry Perrot, InterContinental’s new area general manager in Oman; Robert Kunkler, COO at Minor Hotel Group; and Gavin Samson, partner at Hotel Development Resources, to discuss opportunities in the capital and beyond.


Oman has big plans for tourism. In response to the sharp fall in oil prices – and the revenues that provide the lion’s share of state income – the government intends to step up the sector’s contribution to the economy and make the country a must-see destination by 2040.

With one specific plan involving the construction of a real-snow ski centre in Muscat, which often records temperatures of 38°C, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the tourism model that the sultanate has in mind is something in the style of neighbouring UAE, with the high-tech, lavish offerings of Dubai or Abu Dhabi.

In fact, while larger attractions such as the Palm Mall (where the snow village will be based) may draw such comparisons, overall, Oman’s ambitions are of a very different nature.

As the oldest independent state in the Arab world, Oman intends to cling to its individuality, offering a sophisticated tourism experience that draws upon its perceived status as the last remnant of ‘authentic Arabia’.

One man keenly aware of the uniqueness of the country is Thierry Perrot, the new area general manager (AGM) and country manager for IHG, overseeing the operator’s six – and counting – hotels in Oman. Speaking to Hotel Management Middle East just a few weeks into his new role at the beginning of the year, Perrot compares the atmosphere in Oman with his previous experiences in the region, most recently as AGM Abu Dhabi and GM Crowne Plaza and IHG Yas Island.

“The phenomenal building that you have in Dubai and the constructions that you see in Abu Dhabi, you don’t see here,” Perrot says. “Here, they do it very much on the local level. For example, you don’t have higher floors being built, it has to be horizontal rather than vertical and it has to respect certain types of buildings. This is definitely a great way to attract tourism because visitors recognise the country every time they come.”

Annual visitor numbers were 2.6 million last year, according to the ‘Tourism Report 2015’, a number that the government intends to see rise to 5.0 million in the final years of its recently announced Tourism Strategy 2040. Stepping stones along the way include reaching a capacity of 20,000 hotel rooms by 2020, an increase of around 4,000 from today’s figures.

Oman’s capital, Muscat, is central to the Ministry of Tourism’s (MoT) plans for development, not least because of its intended role in attracting MICE visitors.

The Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre (OCEC), due to open in Muscat Al Seeb later in the year, will help to nurture business tourism, and features on-site hotels including a second Crowne Plaza for the city. Promising a tiered auditorium seating 3,200 people and 22,000m² of column-free exhibition space, the OCEC is just ten minutes from the upcoming Muscat International Airport, expected to open later in the year.

Benefits for expats

To the south, the Special Economic Zone in Duqm, established by royal decree in late 2011, provides another focus for business. Benefits such as tax exemptions for expatriates are designed to attract investment into the area as a logistic and marine hub for the Gulf region.

IHG made its entrance in 2014, tapping into business and leisure tourism with the beach-fronted Crowne Plaza Duqm, and Perrot hints that the operator could be more involved here in future.

While MICE tourism is an important factor for Oman, leisure could eventually play a much larger role. Historic forts, four UNESCO world heritage sites and 3,165km of unspoiled coastline are all on offer. So too is mountain scenery made particularly eye-catching in the southern province, Dhofar, by a summer monsoon that creates the kind of verdant scenes normally associated with Thailand. Known as ‘Khareef’, the July to September season makes Dhofar’s capital Salalah attractive to a cohort of travellers from the GCC and beyond that are seeking a cool climate away from the summer heat.

No wonder then that Salalah is a site of much excitement for hotel operators, and one of the key destinations promoted for development by the MoT. Set on the coast and offering the sights of Oman’s second largest city, Salalah’s promise as a leisure destination has seen many operators moving in. Some, such as Steigenberger and Minor Hotel Group (MHG), are making their Omani debut in the process. From the former, the first InterCityHotel outside Europe is scheduled to open in July 2016.

For MHG, the Al Baleed Resort Salalah by Anantara is one of two resorts due to open under its operation in Oman later this year, the second being the Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar Resort in the north of Oman. This resort, too, will take advantage of Oman’s varied landscape; nestled on the Saiq Plateau of the ‘Green Mountain’, it will be the highest five-star resort in the Middle East at 2,000m above sea level.

Robert Kunkler, MHG’s COO, reveals that Oman has long been on the horizon for the group, but he emphasises that the recent focus of Sultan Qaboos bin Said on delivering infrastructure made this an opportune moment.

“We believe that it is the perfect time to be entering Oman given the investment that has been made in education and infrastructure providing safe and convenient access for residents and visitors, especially at Al Jabal Al Akhdar, and their vision and strategy for the sustainable development of tourism,” Kunkler says.   

An extensive road-building programme has extended access to previously hard-to-access areas, but as Gavin Samson, partner at consulting firm Hotel Development Resources, points out, the most significant development has been airport infrastructure.

“Up until now, Oman has been quite limited with the volume of air traffic that you can bring into the country because the international airport in Muscat obviously is quite limited,” he says. “But within two years, we hope to see the opening of the new Muscat International Airport. We’ve already seen the opening of the brand new international airport in Salalah in November last year, and there will be other regional airports opening in the next three to five years, which will enable the country to open up more and enable more airlines to fly and bring more passenger traffic.”

In achieving its aims, securing investment from the private sector is high on the government’s list of priorities, and a number of public-private partnerships are already in place. Take Port Sultan Al Qaboos, a mixed-use tourism development on the Muscat waterfront scheduled to be completed in 2027, for which 51% of the holding company will be owned by the Oman Tourism Development Company (Omran) and the remaining 49% sold to private investors. For the Crowne Plaza OCEC, as well as an upcoming JW Marriott on the site, Omran partnered with Bank Sohar; meanwhile Al Baleed Resort Salalah by Anantara saw a 50:50 joint venture between Omran and Oman property developers Musstir.

Samson, who has been travelling to and working in the country for nearly 20 years, says that around a decade ago, investment from other Gulf countries was more frequent, but nowadays, the majority of private investment is being found within Oman itself. This, he believes, is due in part to caution stemming from the recent cool down in the economy, but he anticipates that interest from international investors will pick up as this stabilises over time.

Oman’s location, though, will be a helpful asset when it comes to attracting tourists, Samson emphasises.

“Oman is a fantastic destination in its own right, but it’s also advantaged by the fact that it’s in close proximity to the UAE,” he says. “Given the amount of recognition that markets such as Dubai have brought the region, Oman’s proximity to the UAE, therefore, gives it positional recognition.”

The UAE and other near neighbours account for many of Oman’s tourists with 1.06 million GCC nationals visiting last year, according to the ‘Tourism Report 2015’. Coming second were Indian tourists at 299,661; and further development of the Asian market is a target for operators such as IHG, with Perrot highlighting the importance of Oman’s Indian community. British (150,902) and German (106,269) topped European visitors. New MoT initiatives will seek to nurture these markets, by, for example, providing tourist guides with German language training. Finally, Omanis themselves accounted for 130,345, giving weight to the MoT’s decision to devote half of its 2040 strategy to growing domestic tourism.

For Robert Kunkler, MHG’s COO, the country’s status as a safe, stable destination is one of its key attractions for tourists, but he also emphasises the huge importance of Oman’s welcoming culture.

Bedouin values

“What sets Oman apart is the wealth of authentic, indigenous experiences visitors can enjoy,” Kunkler says. “They do not focus on having the ‘biggest’ or the ‘first’ – they have a strong sense of identity and a progressive outlook while celebrating their rich heritage and staying true to their Bedouin values.”

Perrot, too, praises the warmth of Omanis, and indeed such soft skills will be vital given the prominent role envisaged for them by the MoT. It wants to see over 500,000 people working in tourism and hospitality by 2040.

Currently, 50% of Perot’s employees are Omani, but this is intended to eventually rise to 75% in line with government expectations. He discloses that it’s a very different picture to Abu Dhabi, where his staff was overwhelmingly expatriate.

“[Omanis] are very loyal to and understanding of the country,” he says. “So now we just need to bring the expertise from outside to train them so that they can also take very good care of guests from a technical point of view.”

With four and five-star hotels topping the bill, for now, Oman’s international guests are likely to be the more moneyed travellers. In the years to come, however, guests with a nose for culture but more modest means could also be catered for, with Perrot emphasising that there is a space for hotels serving the middle market.

“Oman is maybe considered an expensive destination,” he says, “but there is a desire from the MoT to go into two and three-star brands, to bring a market that will be connoisseur, but within a certain budget. It is a direction that the ministry is working on at the moment.”

Scuba diving trips are available in the southern province of Dhofar.
Dhofar’s capital Salalah is an attractive spot for travellers during its monsoon season.
Oman is lauded as a naturally beautiful destination that treasures its people’s histories and traditions.


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