Oman Economic Review – July 2019

34 July 2019

COVER STORY – ITC

more residential units. Since we will
have all the amenities and hospitality
infrastructure facilities in place
by the end of phase 1, our focus in
phase 2 will be on building additional
residential units.

Currently we are fully concentrating
on phase 1 of the project. We are
focused on giving our maximum care
and services to the people living in the
community.

How is the demand form the market,
especially in the current market
situation?
Despite the challenging economic
situation, we are getting an exciting
response from the market. A lot of
prospective customers are walking
in to see the project and, in addition,
we are getting a lot of inquiries from
outside Oman.

According to you, how is Oman’s ITC
sector shaping up? Can you talk about
the prospects and the challenges in
the sector?
We cannot talk about the ITC sector
in isolation from the developments in

allied sectors such as aviation, tourism

and hospitality as well as the overall

economic development in Oman. All

economic sectors are supporting one

another. Several key infrastructure,

aviation and hospitality projects

that opened recently such as Muscat

International Airport, the various

ports and hotels have contributed

significantly to improving Oman’s

tourism landscape. They all have added

to Oman’s brand value as a favourable

tourism and investment destination.

This all bodes well for the ITC projects

in the country. There has been a

constant increase in international

demand. We are getting inquiries from

potential buyers of all nationalities.

Talking about the challenges, we request

the authorities to further streamline

the licensing processes for the ITCs in

Oman. That is very important. As ITC

developer, we have to take permits

from the various authorities and it’s

a very time-consuming process. But

since all these licenses are linked to

one other, the authorities can introduce

a comprehensive licensing system to

make it easier for us. We hope the

authorities concerned can look into it.

Collaboration among the ITC developers

in Oman is also very important for

promoting their projects outside

the Sultanate. It requires a lot of

investments to promote the projects

outside Oman as it involves conducting

large exhibitions in foreign countries.

However, ITCs in Oman can put their

hands together to market Oman’s iconic

projects all over the world.

In order to promote tourism and attract

more tourists to the country, we need

as much infrastructure and hospitality

facilities as possible. When we bring

more international chains to Oman,

the country will become more known

among international visitors. At this

juncture, when Oman is focusing on

the tourism sector as a key sector

for economic diversification, I feel

developing more hotels is essential.

That will attract more tourists to the

country. We should not wait for the

tourists to come as they will not arrive

until and unless they have the basic

infrastructure in place.

However, the current drop in the

occupancy rates in Oman can be

attributed to the market situation in

the region. The tourism sector in the

region is susceptible to the political and

economic situation in the region. But

I believe things will change and there

will be an economic rebound soon and

by that time when the tourism sector

retains its rhythm, we will be ready with

the necessary infrastructure catering to

the future demands in the sector.

According to the Ministry of Tourism

statistics, the number of tourist coming

to Oman is increasing exponentially.

There is a huge percentage of increase

every year. This is a very good trend.

Oman is an attractive destination for

tourists and investors. It’s a safe and

stable country politically; and legally

speaking, we have clear rules and

regulations in place for all sectors.

Therefore our outlook is very positive.

The market is promising and the

rebound will happen soon.