This is always an exciting time of year for Oman Airports as July and August are traditionally when we see high passenger volumes through our airports, and 2023 is definitely proving to be no exception to this trend.

In terms of visitor numbers to Oman, the winter months are often the busiest, however for the Dhofar region in the South of Oman, and the main city Salalah, July and August are also the peak tourism months.

This time of year is Khareef season, which annually attracts visitors from across the Gulf, from India and also increasingly from Europe. Khareef season generally sees periods of rainfall across the south of Oman, and this, coupled with temperatures that are much cooler than the rest of the Middle East at this time of year, attracts more than half a million visitors during these months, enjoying the cooler climate, the green landscape, and of course the traditional Omani hospitality.

Salalah has seen an increasing number of airlines serving the airport to take advantage of the increasing visitors, and it has been encouraging to see the emergence of Europe as an important market. This season will see ten European destinations connected to Salalah, served by eight different carriers – with a particular focus on central and eastern Europe.

However, more recent expansion into Italy and Germany, particularly for winter breaks, has highlighted the importance of Western Europe as a target for more year-round travel; alongside the continued growth in existing markets. In fact, for 2023 passenger numbers from Europe to Salalah have already surpassed the full year in 2022, so this Khareef season and the rest of 2023 is looking to be as busy as ever.

This all demonstrates the potential of Salalah as a year-round tourism and visitor destination, and with an increasing number of European carriers operating, this will have a positive impact on the awareness of Salalah, and Oman, as a beautiful must-see destination.

The European market has always been of importance for Oman, not only because of the high numbers of tourists traveling to the country, but also through the historically strong business and economic ties. Muscat is well connected to Europe, with 23 destinations served by ten scheduled and charter airlines, including the two home carriers. These airlines carried almost a million passengers in 2022 – with a similar number already handled in 2023.

Visitor numbers for Oman reached nearly three million in 2022, as the world emerged from the pandemic travel restrictions, with this figure very close to the pre-covid high. 2023 has already seen over 1.5million visitors in the first five months of the year, and with the peak Khareef and winter seasons still to come, the expectation is for this year to far exceed 2022, and be a welcome return to pre-pandemic visitor levels.

Over the past eighteen months, the easing of global travel restrictions has clearly been a key driver of growth. However, what has been a major help to support the return of visitors and boost tourism, has been the announcement by the Government that citizens of 103 countries can now avail of visa-free entry to Oman for fourteen-day visits; with the potential to apply for an extension to their stay beyond this period.

The decision to waive visas underlines the importance of the tourism industry as one of the main drivers of the country’s economy. The tourism industry has always been important to Oman’s economy, and this is recognised through the projects that the Government is putting in place as part of their overall twenty-year Vision 2040.

A range of tourism developments across the country are currently underway, with 1.7bn rials ($4.4bn) already being invested in projects out of a planned 3bn rials investment over the next eighteen months; these developments are already making an impact through the increased visitor numbers.

One area in particular which is vital to supporting the tourism impact is the accommodation sector. The pandemic did not impact the ongoing development of hotel infrastructure in Oman. In fact, an additional 5,000 hotel rooms have been introduced to the market across the country since 2019, representing a 20% growth. Of this increase, almost 1,000 of these additional rooms are in the Dhofar region - with the focus on Salalah.

What is clear as we enter the second half of 2023, is that the tourism developments in Oman, the actions of the Government to simplify arrival, and the global appetite for travel, are all continuing to support growth. The additional hotel rooms and new infrastructure being brought to the market are ready to welcome the growing numbers of guests, and the team at Oman Airports are also looking forward to playing our part in providing a warm welcome and efficient service to all as they pass through our airports.