You can convert heritage homes into hotels

Taking a cue from Italian and other international experiences, the Ministry of Tourism has invited citizens to apply for licences for converting their heritage homes into inns or hotels.

During his visit to Italy, Ahmed bin Nasser al Mehrzi, Minister of Tourism, had learned about the Italian way of turning heritage homes into hotels.

He had visited Parma in Italy, which has a 42-room heritage inn.

He learnt how to turn parts of a fortress into a heritage inn and give it a modern look without compromising on the originality of the fort and its components.

The ministry has urged the local community in Oman to transform their old neighbourhoods and houses into heritage inns to support existing hotel facilities, add more value to heritage homes and benefit from such properties.

It has urged citizens in all wilayats of the Sultanate who have old houses to submit their applications to the ministry or its offices in the respective governorates for the licences.

This, it said, will help increase the number of rooms for tourists.

Such heritage neighbourhoods and houses are aplenty in the Sultanate.

Some people have already started converting their houses into heritage inns in wilayats of Nizwa, Al Hamra and Manah in the Al Dakhiliyah Governorate.

The ministry is granting them licences as per the heritage classification system for such a conversion.

Bait al Jabal, one of the oldest Omani houses located in the village of Al Hamra, has been recently restored and converted into a heritage inn. It is drawing praise from guests for its authentic Omani hospitality.