April 19- The tourism sector's share in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will be more than three per cent during the Eighth Five Year Development Plan (2011-2015), said Muhammad al Tobi, Under-Secretary, Ministry of Tourism. The sector, he said, will hopefully go well beyond the objectives set by the Oman's Vision-2020, of increasing its relative share to three per cent of the GDP by 2020.
The 25-year Oman's Economic Vision (1995-2020), the master plan for the development of non-oil sectors, revolves around five areas of focus for tourism: establishing Oman as a regional travel and tourism hub; increasing tourism industry's contribution to GDP to three per cent; increasing the private sector's participation; attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) and increasing Omanisation.
"The question of tourism sector's relative share in the GDP needs clarification. Its share, which stands at around one per cent per cent at present, includes only hotels and restaurants. Meanwhile, Port Sultan Qaboos played host to a trio of luxury cruise liners (Costa Luminosa, Brilliance of the Seas and The World of the United States), affording passersby a spectacle more reminiscent of European ports,” he added.