(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Oman's thrust on developing the travel and tourism sector has begun to show positive effects on the economy. The sultanate has shown impressive overall progress according to the World Travel & Tourism Council's (WTTC) 2015 Travel & Tourism Economic Impact Report.
The report puts Oman higher than other GCC countries in most categories and says that the direct contribution from travel and tourism to the sultanate's employment is expected to show a real growth of 11 per cent this year the second highest of the 184 countries covered by WTTC.
The sector's contribution to GDP and in generating jobs
has been significant and forecasts see it only rising. This means that the strategy to use tourism to veer the economy away from oil-dependent revenue is on the right track. Travel and tourism's direct contribution to Oman's GDP in 2014 was RO765.1mn (2.6 per cent of the total GDP).
The report has forecast that this will rise by 5.2 per cent this year and to RO1.453bn (3.3 per cent of total GDP) in 2025.
The sector directly supported 44500 jobs (2.8 per cent of total employment) in 2014. This
includes employment by hotels travel agents airlines and other passenger transportation services (excluding commuter services). It also include the activities of the restaurant and leisure industries directly supported by tourists.
This figure has been forecast to grow by 11 per cent this year to 49500 (2.9 per cent of total employment).
By 2025 the sector will account for 72000 jobs directly an increase of 3.8 per cent annually over the next ten years the report states.
Oman is attracting good investment in the field. The last year saw RO267mn being invested (3.6 per cent of total investment).
A rise of 10.3 per cent is expected in 2015; in 2025 investments are expected to touch RO541mn rising 6.3 per cent annually. The sector's total share in national investment will rise from three per cent in 2015 to 3.9 per cent in 2025.
Money spent by foreign visitors to a country (visitor exports) is a key component of the direct contribution of travel and tourism. In 2014 Oman generated RO743.8mn in visitor exports. In 2015 this is expected to grow by six per cent to RO788.4mn.
By 2025 international tourist arrivals are forecast to total 3.49mn generating expenditure of RO1.565bn an increase of 7.1 per cent per annum.
Leisure travel spending (inbound and domestic) generated 71.3 per cent of direct travel and tourism GDP in 2014 (RO874mn) compared to 28.7 per cent for business travel spending (RO351.4mn). Leisure travel spending is expected to grow by 10.2 per cent this year to RO963.4mn and rise by 6.3 per cent per annum to RO1.771bn in 2025.
Business travel spending is expected to fall by 0.5 per cent in 2015 to RO349.6mn and rise by 4.9 per cent annually to RO563mn in 2025.
Domestic travel spending generated 39.3 per cent of direct travel and tourism GDP in 2014 compared to 60.7 per cent for visitor exports (i e foreign visitor spending or international tourism receipts).
Domestic travel spending is expected to grow by 8.9 per cent in 2015 to RO524.6mn and rise by 3.9 per cent annually to RO769.0mn in 2025.
This year the 2015 Annual Economic Reports cover 184 countries and 25 regions of the world including for the first time the Pacific Alliance.
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