Current Issues In The Hospitality Tourism Industry In Oman
Current Issues in the Hospitality Tourism Industry in Oman
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Introduction: Oman is country with an area of 309,500 sq. kilometers and a population of 3.7 million people. The mainstay of the Omani economy is oil. Total size of the economy is 81 billion USD and per capita income is 22,180 USD. The economy presently faces an imminent danger of the sharply falling oil prices. In this scenario the only plausible option for the government of Oman is to develop other alternative forms of economy drivers that can give boost to the economy in the absence of the strong economic support coming from oil exports. The government seems willing to develop the country as tourist destination as the key economic driver. There are several things that Oman can learn from other countries particularly UAE to develop its tourism. Although, the UAE economy was once based on oil but now it is no more dependent upon oil like before. It’s the tourism industry there that has taken the lead role in the economy of UAE. In comparison to UAE, Oman has more varied landscape and weather, much bigger area, far more historical sites, and above all a rich cultural heritage that is visible in the everyday life espousing values of love, care kindness and regard. The ‘tourism mix’ is just right for Oman and all that is needed is just the right infrastructure and other support facilities required for tourism. Tourism is affected by several factors like economic and political conditions, and the level of competition amongst the competing organisations in the field of tourism in the host country (Smith, 2004). Other factors are the promotional efforts of the destination; health, safety and security issues; time and cost consideration (how far away is the destination for the tourist’s home country); and seasonal variations (Page and Connel, 2009). There four categories of tourists defined by Cohen (1972)
(This is posted at the http://www.ecotourismblog.com/oman-perfect-destination-at-its-best-2/#comment-47)
Introduction: Oman is country with an area of 309,500 sq. kilometers and a population of 3.7 million people. The mainstay of the Omani economy is oil. Total size of the economy is 81 billion USD and per capita income is 22,180 USD. The economy presently faces an imminent danger of the sharply falling oil prices. In this scenario the only plausible option for the government of Oman is to develop other alternative forms of economy drivers that can give boost to the economy in the absence of the strong economic support coming from oil exports. The government seems willing to develop the country as tourist destination as the key economic driver. There are several things that Oman can learn from other countries particularly UAE to develop its tourism. Although, the UAE economy was once based on oil but now it is no more dependent upon oil like before. It’s the tourism industry there that has taken the lead role in the economy of UAE. In comparison to UAE, Oman has more varied landscape and weather, much bigger area, far more historical sites, and above all a rich cultural heritage that is visible in the everyday life espousing values of love, care kindness and regard. The ‘tourism mix’ is just right for Oman and all that is needed is just the right infrastructure and other support facilities required for tourism. Tourism is affected by several factors like economic and political conditions, and the level of competition amongst the competing organisations in the field of tourism in the host country (Smith, 2004). Other factors are the promotional efforts of the destination; health, safety and security issues; time and cost consideration (how far away is the destination for the tourist’s home country); and seasonal variations (Page and Connel, 2009). There four categories of tourists defined by Cohen (1972)