Oman expects to open several new hotels and complexes with more than 2,000 resort and hotel rooms to be added in 2013. Oman’s Capital City Muscat will see the majority of growth with over 720 new rooms, with the rest spread evenly across the country. New hotel openings in 2013 include the Fraser Place Sohar which is currently on track to open later on in 2013 and the Azaiba Hotel, Muscat, an $80 million 5* project that is expected to be operational by mid-2013.
The Sultanate’s expanding hotel portfolio will soon include Four Seasons, Banyan Tree Hotels and Hotel Missoni in Muscat’s Jebel Sifah project. Omran (the Sultanate’s leading tourism-related development, hospitality management and investment company) has recently announced that it has passed the 60% construction mark of its 2,000 metre hilltop luxury project, the Alila Jabal Akhdar Resort, set to open its doors in December 2013 and the 110-room Khasab Hotel in Musandam is also set to open towards the end of 2013.
These developments are in addition to boutique hotels that opened in 2012 including the 5* Juweira Boutique Hotel, Salalah Beach, The View and Sahab Hotel in the Jebel Akhdar mountain range and the Jebel Sifah boutique hotel near Muscat. Following the Sultanate’s sustainable tourism model, Omran recently completed the installation and furnishing of ten eco-friendly luxury tents at Ras Al Jinz Turtle Reserve. The increase in accommodation availability also included the completion of an 800 metre walkway that enables visitors to move from the reserve’s Scientific and Visitor Centre to the tents’ picturesque location
The Duqm City Hotel a 117 room business hotel equipped with comfortable rooms and business amenities opened its doors at the end of 2012 catering for business travellers seeking affordable and contemporary Omani hospitality along with the 4 Star, 200 room Duqm Crowne Plaza both ideally located from which to visit the Duqm Rock Gardens.
Developments around the Sultanate include a 20-room and 12-villa Cheval Blanc Resort on Sodah Island with private beaches for each unit and a new Crowne Plaza in the Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre precinct both due to be completed by the end of 2015.
The Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre, due for completion at the end of 2015, is set to become an iconic landmark for Muscat and the Sultanate of Oman. Surrounded by nature it overlooks a wadi that is a haven for Oman’s exotic bird life. The world-class facility is perfectly suited to host international, regional and national conventions, exhibitions and business events. Amongst its features will be a tiered auditorium seating 3,200 people and more than 22,000 square metres of exhibition space.
