18 tourism licences cancelled in the Sultanate in 2016

MUSCAT: Eighteen tourism licences were cancelled in Oman in 2016, according to official statistics.

A spokesperson of the Ministry of Tourism (MoT) said, “The main reason for cancellation of these tourism licenses was that they did not request a renewal from the Ministry of Tourism.”

Some licences were also cancelled as these were found flouting tourism related laws and regulations.

A tourism permit is liable to be cancelled if the licensee fails to renew the licence or fails to meet the tourism regulations for more than six months continuously.

“An owner can lose the licence if the licensee makes changes in the shape of the establishment without the approval of the Directorate General or if the licensee carries out activities other than those specified,” the law states.

Licences can be also cancelled if the owner opens any branches without first obtaining the approval or if the post of the manager responsible for the establishment remains vacant for more than 60 days.

Other reasons include work being halted for six months or the licensee declaring bankruptcy.

Oman is looking at an 8-12 per cent annual growth in tourism and is planning to open a large number of budget and five star hotels in the next few years.

Three million people visited the Sultanate in 2016, with nationals from the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, Indians, Britons, Germans and Pakistanis forming the majority, according to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).

Until the end of December 2016, 1,453,336 GCC nationals had visited the Sultanate, followed by 299,568 Indians. Britons accounted for 173,684 visitors in 2016 while Germans made up for 136,950,the rest 89,258 being Pakistanis. These five countries contributed the largest number of visitors to Oman.

Also, last year, 5.9 million visi- tors left the country. In December 2016 alone, 276,000 visitors landed in the Sultanate, reflecting a 9.5 per cent increase, compared to last year when the number was 252,000.

The GCC nationals formed 31.4 per cent of the total visitors in December, followed by Indians, Britons and Germans who made up 12.3 per cent, 8.7 per cent and 5.5 per cent, respectively.

A 23 per cent increase in cruise ship visitors was recorded by the NCSI. Of these, 43,000 arrived by sea in December last year, com- pared to 35,000 during the same month in 2015.

The revenue of 3-5 star hotels, however, registered a 2.5 per cent drop. In December, hotels reported revenue of OMR19.3 million, compared to OMR19.8 million during the same month last year.

A total of 137,060 guests were accommodated in hotels, reflecting an 8.1 per cent rise and a 66 per cent occupancy rate, compared to 126,844 guests during December 2015 when the occupancy rate was 62.3 per cent.