The Middle East

In addition to raising the overall awareness of Oman as a global destination and increasing the number of foreign visitors to the country, the Ministry of Tourism (MoT) and related agencies are actively seeking to tap the domestic market. By tailoring services specifically to locals, developing lesser known destinations, and creating...

Oman has a strong reputation within the larger gulf region as being a high-end tourist destination offering attractive options for foreign visitors, mixed with stunning natural geography, cultural attractions and a growing number of sporting activities.

While the focus on preserving Oman’s natural surroundings and cultural traditions has allowed the sultanate to retain much of the spirit of historic Arabia, the arrival of modern infrastructure and an emphasis on new sectors like activity-based tourism and ecotourism suggest that the country is firmly adapting to the needs of the modern global...

Oman’s education sector has expanded rapidly since the 1970s, with the total number of schools in the sultanate rising from three in 1970 to 1725 in 2016. The sector is overseen by the Education Council, which was founded in 2012 to streamline all matters pertaining to education development in the country, and which is composed of the country’...

Developments in Oman’s telecoms sector in 2017 were centred on the announcement of a third mobile network operator (MNO) licence and an increase in royalty rates from January 1, which led to a 35-40% drop in net profits that year for the two existing operators, Omantel and Ooredoo. With market penetration in the mobile sector at close to 150...