Gov & Regulators

Muscat to add more than 720 rooms; niche resorts opening in Salalah, Khasab, Hajar Mountains; Duqm to add 3 hotels totaling 391 rooms

15 May, 2012

Oman’s resort and hotel portfolio continues to expand with over 2,000 additional rooms scheduled for opening in 2012/ 2013. Muscat sees the most growth with the addition of 726 rooms, while niche resorts are set to open in Salalah, Khasab and in the high altitude Hajar Mountains. Duqm, Oman’s new city on the Arabian Sea, sees the opening of three hotels with a total of 391 rooms. The portfolio sees continued strengthening and diversification of Muscat’s room supply, and also increasing focus on regional projects from Khasab in the north to Oman’s southern gateway, Salalah.

TICO unveils utility development model with lower consumer tariffs and zero subsidies

Muscat, Oman, May 14th, 2012:

In a move that could benefit consumers in Oman and the region, UTICO, a leading private utility developer in the Middle East, unveiled a utility development project that would lead to lower consumer tariffs and zero subsidies at the Oman Water and Power Summit 2012 that recently concluded.

UTICO is part of the US$3 billion Ghantoot Group, which in February this year had announced a US$500 million investment in Oman’s hospitality, water and energy sectors. As part of that process, UTICO is in active talks with Omani authorities to implement utility and water desalination projects that could lead to lower water and power bills for Oman’s consumers.

Muscat, May7th2012–Vale is proactively identifying means to sustain fish resources in North Al Batinah Governorate by signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Agriculture & Fisheries to provide artificial reefs and demarcation buoys in the Wilayatof Liwa. The agreement aims to enhance the biodiversity in non-restricted fishing areas for commercial usethrough increasing the catch of healthy stock for local fishermen. 

The MoU was signed by H.E. Dr. Hamed bin Said Al Oufi, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture & Fisheries for the Wealth of Fisheries and Marcos Beluco, Vale Country Manager in the presence of H.E. Sheikh HamedAl Aghbari,Wali of Liwa. The artificial reefs and buoys will be placed in selected sites that will allowfishermen to explore a vast fishing vicinity and reapthe socio-economic benefitsof the project.

•    Ministry believes massive investment to upgrade cruise shipping facilities at Arabian Gulf ports should be complemented by a coordinated regional cruise ship strategy
•    Oman, Abu Dhabi and Dubai have major port redevelopment projects for cruise shipping
•    Ministry sees the lead times associated with port redevelopments as an opportunity to build the Arabian Gulf’s brand profile and attractiveness to broader markets

2 May, 2012

The Sultanate of Oman’s Ministry of Tourism has underlined the need for an Arabian Gulf cruise ship strategy given the steady growth of the cruise ship industry in the region in recent years. The Ministry pointed out that cruise shipping is a great success story for the Arabian Gulf States, with blistering growth from the mid 1990s. Growth is accelerating as a result of high passenger exchanges made possible by the development of major aviation hubs in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha and Bahrain. Further, the last 3 years have seen the entry of new cruise companies including smaller expedition cruise ships seeking to explore the coastline in closer detail.

Oman’s Ministry of Tourism and cruise ports saw significant growth, with 2011 being a record year for cruise ship arrivals to Port Sultan Qaboos, Muscat, and further growth is expected in 2012. The Government of Oman is also progressing with a master plan to transform Port Sultan Qaboos into a world-class cruise destination, while several other Gulf States are redeveloping their cruise ship facilities.

•    Oman’s Ministry of Tourism will tender for creative design services in coming weeks.
•    Her Excellency Maitha Al Mahrouqi, Undersecretary of the Ministry said, “Arabian Travel Market 2012 is an opportune time to signal that we will be issuing a tender for creative design services to take Oman’s Beauty has an address campaigns to a higher level. The successful agency will need to have a strong strategic capability to build awareness in Destination Oman and to shape our consumer-direct campaigns. We are interested to hear from agencies that can communicate Oman’s values and attributes in an informed and compelling way. Most importantly, we want to build on Oman’s distinctive and elegant brand position because, from a destination marketing viewpoint, we believe Beauty has an address.”
•    Oman’s tourism campaigns position the country as a destination for high-end cultural, heritage, nature and adventure travelers looking for an immersive and authentic Arabian experience. Business and incentive tourism are also on the horizon with Oman’s 3,000 seat Convention and Exhibition Centre due for completion in 2015.
•    Last November, the Ministry of Tourism launched Oman’s Beauty has an address global campaign on BBC Worldwide television and web sites.

World Travel Awards announced ahead of ATM include a record 14 nominations from Oman

•    2012 is a year of distinctions for Oman with The National Geographic and Lonely Planet recommending Oman and Muscat as must-see destinations while the Arab League has appointed Muscat as Arab Tourism Capital. Oman also received a record 14 World Travel Award (WTM) nominations. Oman will use ATM (30 April to 3 May) to showcase its campaigns and plans to boost tourism.

•    Her Excellency Maitha Al Mahrouqi, the Undersecretary of Oman’s Ministry of Tourism said, “ATM is a valuable opportunity to showcase our Muscat Arab Tourism Capital 2012 campaign and supporting initiatives including our new tourism visas, and stopover campaign with Oman Air. The high number of WTA nominations reflects growing industry competitiveness. I am delighted to see the Ministry of Tourism among the nominations as we continue to build Oman’s brand campaign (Beauty has an address) and trade network.”

Muscat, Apr 20 (ONA)--- The total passenger traffic including transit & transfer passengers through Muscat International Airport increased by (21%) to 1.840.536 passengers at the end of March 2012 compared to 1.526.040 passengers for the same period of 2011.

Statistics released by the Air Transport Department at the Transport and Communications Ministry pointed out that the number of arrival passengers in Muscat International Airport increased by (22%) to 944,832 passengers at the end of March 2012 comparing to 773,274 passengers for the same period of 2011.

The number of departing passengers also increased by (19%) to 865,113 passengers at the end of March this year comparing to 728,202 passengers for the same period of the year 2011.

“Renaissance has opened up new vistas of scientific progress and educational development. The Government considers human resource development as a crucial investment for nation building. The Research Council continues to take various innovative steps to improve the quality of scientific and technical education in the country. The Public Authority for Manpower Registration seeks to strengthen the coordination between various institutions in the country. It will help private sector companies to find out the capable hands and the job seekers to get updated about the right opportunities. The Authority has taken various initiatives and signed several agreements to strengthen the agreement between both private and public sectors,” stated HE Mohsin Al Balushi, Advisor to the Ministry of Commerce & Industry and Chairman of The Public Authority for Manpower Registration.   

He was speaking at OMAN FORUM – BUILDING NATIONAL TALENT, organized on Tuesday (17 April) at Al Bustan Palace Ritz-Carlton. The event was organized by Alam al-IktisaadWalA’mal (AIWA), Oman’s premier business magazine published by United Press & Publishing (part of UMS Group).The half day long event comprised two panel discussions on the state of education & training, youth employment policies & initiatives, identification of talent gaps & challenges and creation of the guidelines to set up the road map for future. The relevant stakeholders from all walks of the society including the Government, Majlis Al Shura, private sector, HR experts and civil society deliberated on the various dimensions of building national talent.