Muscat: The Media, Tourism, and Culture Committee of the Shura Council convened its seventh meeting of the second annual session (2024-2025) of the tenth term on chaired by Abdullah Hamad Al-Harthy.
The session hosted Azzan Qassim Al Busaidi, Undersecretary for Tourism at the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism, along with ministry officials, to discuss plans for increasing job localization in the tourism industry and the construction of integrated tourism cities and service stations for mobile homes.
AlHarthy welcomed the ministry representatives, emphasizing the importance of direct interaction with government agencies to exchange ideas and promote the tourism industry, one of Oman's major pillars for economic diversification under Vision 2040.
The Undersecretary delivered a comprehensive overview of the tourism sector's most recent performance metrics, such as its GDP contribution, increases in local and foreign investments, and developments in hospitality infrastructure.
He also described future development plans, interagency coordination efforts, and sector-specific obstacles.
He emphasized the connection between increasing tourism initiatives and generating new employment chances for Omanis.
The members inquired about the ministry's employment creation initiatives, specifically the replacement of expatriates in supervisory and managerial positions.
They emphasized the necessity for phased Omanisation targets in the hospitality sector that maintain service quality.
The talks also focused on building mobile home service stations to promote adventure and desert tourism, with an emphasis on safety and accessibility. The idea of completely integrated tourism cities, which includes hotels, entertainment, retail, and services, was also investigated as a strategy to attract domestic and foreign investment.
The committee commended the ministry's efforts to boost tourism and local employment. It emphasized the significance of cross-sector coordination, leveraging global best practices, and maximizing Oman's unique cultural, natural, and heritage resources to boost the country's regional and international tourism competitiveness.
