Oman’s luxury hotel segment hit by 16% fall in visitors

Revenues at Oman’s luxury hotels dropped 12 percent year on year to OMR 96 million ($250 million) by the end of April, government data shows.

The number of guests staying at three- to five-star hotels declined 16 percent annually to 830,000 in the first four months of the year, the state-run Oman News Agency reported, citing the National Center for Statistics and Information.

Occupancy reached 50 percent by the end of April. No comparative numbers were given.

The Iran war, which began on February 28, was costing the Middle East at least $600 million a day in lost visitor spending, the World Travel and Tourism Council estimates.

On Monday, US president Donald Trump announced a peace agreement with Iran, raising hopes for a full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a return to normal shipping through the strategic waterway.

Omanis continued to top the list of visitors, up 4 percent year on year to nearly 250,000.

Europe followed with 220,015 guests, while Asia came in at 106,189. GCC visitors reached 40,322, while those from other Arab countries numbered 25,714.

Asia accounted for 106,189 guests, and the Americas 23,992, the report said.

The sultanate plans to attract 11.7 million tourists by 2040 and seeks more than $51 billion in investment to achieve its target.

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