“In the middle ages people were tourists because of their religion, whereas now they are tourists because tourism is their religion”
– Robert Runcie, 1921-2000, Archbishop of Canterbury from 1980-91

We need more tourists – of course we do. We have known that for what seems like a very long time now. The question that always came up in this context was a simple one. What are we doing about it?

The reason why this month we chose to put tourism back on the cover after a long gap, is because answers to that question are finally coming in. A host of projects are not just being announced, but actually happening, investors are queuing at our doors obviously seeing the potential, there are plans of simplifying visa and immigration processes, and wonder of wonders, we may actually see metered taxis from either this month or October.

I mention taxis in particular, because what has been typically happening is that in getting excited about the big picture, the little, but crucial, details are being lost in transit. Taxis is a case in point, where no one has been able to give a good enough reason why meters have not been installed so far. The most basic of amenities like clean toilets has been a bugbear for travellers here from the beginning. Think about the number of passengers that pass through Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport and the numbers that use Seeb International Airport. Why is it that the Bangkok airport washrooms are so much cleaner than ours?

There was always a point that has been raised about tourists from the beginning by the authorities as well as many influential members from the private sector: that we only want the well-heeled segment and not the backpackers. The fact is with RO1 to US$2.5, we are already cutting out a large portion of the masses. Oman is not a place for a cheap holiday and probably never will be. But if the offerings are skewed towards the wealthy only, by default you will be tapping, what one of the travel industry executives call the ‘grey market’. By all accounts with the kind of projects that are coming up, or even Shangri La’s Bar al Jissa which has one hotel specifically catering to the young family unit with children, it seems that the demographics of the tourist to Oman may change significantly.


Mohana Prabhakar
Managing editor