Oman’s growing tourism sector is placing increased emphasis on improving service quality as the country seeks to capitalize on significant investment and rising visitor numbers to boost economic returns. Ahead of the 2026–27 winter tourism season, over 50 tourism professionals—including employees, freelancers, and suppliers—participated in a specialized training program organized by Arabia Orient Tours in Muscat.
The sessions focused on enhancing the visitor experience after arrival, a critical element of Oman’s expanding tourism offering. Training topics covered trip planning, destination knowledge, professional hosting, and managing operational challenges related to hotels, transportation, and itinerary adjustments. The program was led by Natalie Askar, a tourism expert with experience in tour guiding, operations, and the German travel market.
Although relatively small compared to the scale of Oman’s tourism industry, the training initiative highlights broader challenges as the country increases its capacity to welcome international visitors. Oman welcomed 3.966 million inbound tourists in 2025, including 2.714 million overnight visitors, according to the National Centre for Statistics and Information. Tourism expenditure surpassed RO 1.01 billion, with overnight guests accounting for 17.7 million nights spent in the country. Direct tourism GDP contributed RO 1.135 billion, or roughly 2.7 percent of the national economy.
Investment in tourism infrastructure and attractions continues to grow. Between 2021 and 2024, the Oman Vision 2040 Implementation Follow-up Unit recorded 584 investment projects in the heritage and tourism sectors valued at RO 2.59 billion. The Ministry of Heritage and Tourism aims to increase annual tourist arrivals to 12 million by 2040.
As the sector expands, attention is shifting to the tourism workforce and businesses that link accommodations, attractions, and transport services to ensure a consistent visitor experience. For tour operators, maintaining service quality across multiple touchpoints—such as airport transfers, hotels, guides, restaurants, and attractions—is especially critical, as any failure may negatively impact visitors’ views of the destination as a whole.
The Muscat training placed particular emphasis on problem-solving skills alongside destination education. Participants worked on responding to traveler feedback concerning accommodations and transport, managing unexpected itinerary changes, and refining planning from arrival through departure. Enhancing destination knowledge was also a priority, encouraging professionals to provide deeper insights into Oman’s history, culture, and living heritage rather than offering basic information alone.
Sanjay Bhattacharjee, founder of Arabia Orient Tours, described investment in tourism personnel as an investment in the country itself. He said that by developing their team and partners, the company is contributing to Oman’s broader growth. Arabia Orient Tours, which has operated in Oman for 16 years, plans to monitor the progress of trained professionals during the upcoming tourism season and recognize top performers, though details of the evaluation criteria have not been disclosed. This approach aims to link professional development efforts directly with operational performance.