The Sultanate of Oman is poised for an annual growth in tourism revenue of six to eight per cent per cent until 2017, according to experts at the Arabian Hotel Investment Conference.

Filippo Sona, director and head of Hotels in MENA for Colliers International, citing a study published by his company titled ‘Oman, Muscat: Economy Hotel – Market Gap’, said Oman continues to develop as a tourist destination by investing in large scale projects — primarily in Muscat — which contribute to building the ‘Oman Brand’.

“The majority of economy hotels in Oman are either locally branded or unbranded, many of which are not purpose built and of a limited size.

“Due to the fragmented nature of the market, hotel apartments and guest houses tend to compete with the economy hotel market, as there is a lack of differentiation between the two products from a consumer standpoint,” Sona said.

However, the announced forthcoming supply of hotels across Oman only consist of four-star and five-star properties which, according to Sona, will only serve to further widen the existing gap in the market for branded economy hotels.

Based on the Colliers Econometric Model for the period 2013-2017, the Muscat market could potentially absorb an additional 985 economy hotel rooms over and above forthcoming supply.

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The event comes at an exciting time for Dubai, with both World Travel Awards and Arabian Travel Market joining AHIC in welcoming industry leaders to the Emirate over the next few days.