Golden sand: Oman bets on premium tourism
Oman is not very well known on the Russian tourist market. In this sense, it is noticeably inferior to its neighbors in the region - not only the much more popular UAE, but even Saudi Arabia and Qatar. At the moment, the country is still in the process of forming the infrastructure necessary for the mass tourist flow. Therefore, the authorities are betting on the premium segment. Details - in the material "Izvestia".
Less is better, but better
Oman's tourism industry is quite young and counts no more than two decades. It began to develop only under Sultan Qaboos bin Said, who, in fact, created modern Oman, or rather, at the very end of his half-century rule. After all, some 40-50 years ago, like the neighboring United Arab Emirates, it was a backwater and almost completely isolated from the outside world Middle Eastern country, albeit with a long history and great traditions.
All that changed with the discovery of oil and gas in the 1960s. Sultan Qaboos used the revenues from the sale of hydrocarbons for internal development. Many cities were rebuilt, the country has good roads, modern airports, hospitals and schools, decent hotels, supermarkets, stable communications, and an excellent security system. By the way, by this indicator Oman is consistently among the world leaders.
The official religion of the sultanate is Islam, but the country is infinitely far from its radical manifestations. The locals are tolerant and surprisingly hospitable, so a European who observes the bare minimum of rules for staying in a Muslim environment is very comfortable here.
At the beginning of the new millennium, foreign tourists, including Russians, came to Oman en masse. On the eve of the pandemic it was visited by about 20 thousand of our compatriots. The coronavirus epidemic stopped the upward movement for a while, but after the lifting of restrictions and the restoration of direct air travel, the number of Russian travelers increased almost threefold. In 2023, more than 50 thousand people visited the country, and by the end of 2024 they expect about 70 thousand. At the moment, Russian citizens can stay in Oman without a visa for 14 days, and a tourist visa for 30 days can be issued directly at the airport of Muscat - the capital of the country. At the same time, Russia and Oman are actively working on the mutual abolition of visa requirements.
However, the rapid growth of tourist traffic is still noticeably ahead of the development of tourist infrastructure. In particular, for this reason, the Omani authorities do not authorize the launch of charter flights from Russia. At present, only regular air service between the countries is carried out, since November 2024 direct flights are carried out by Oman Air. So far, the authorities have focused on the premium segment of the market as more promising at the moment. In different parts of the country, hotels oriented to the most demanding tourists are gradually appearing.
Capital stuff
Muscat in its current form was formed almost simultaneously with Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Like the leading megacities of the Emirates, it is also rebuilt anew. But at the first glance it is clear that this is a city of a completely different plan. Following the natural landscape, it stretches for several tens of kilometers along the sea coast, as if pressed against the big water by the Hajar mountain range.
There are no skyscrapers here, the tallest building to this day remains the minaret of the Grand Mosque, now named after Sultan Qaboos (but in Oman in general, many things are named after the Sultan - citizens are well aware of what they owe to this man). There are long well-groomed public beaches, where locals along with tourists willingly spend time swimming, playing soccer, doing yoga or peacefully chatting over a cup of fragrant coffee with saffron and cardamom. There are relatively few cars here, but there is plenty of greenery, and the streets are unimaginably clean.
At the same time, Muscat has everything necessary for the prestigious title of the capital: good restaurants, boutiques of leading world brands, convenient marinas, decent museums, a wonderful opera house, it seems to be the first in the Arab world. In short, those who decide to stay in the city for a few days will definitely have something to do.
Royal Opera House, Muscat, Oman
The premium hotels here are not bad either. Close to the airport and at the same time away from the hustle and bustle of the city is St. Regis, with its design referring simultaneously to the sea wave and ocean yacht. And in Muscat itself right on the seafront stands Mandarin Oriental, very modern and colorful at the same time. The hotels, as it is supposed to be, have quality spas with experienced masters and expensive cosmetics, comfortable fitness centers and decent restaurants. For example, St. Regis has franchises of such leading international gastronomic brands as Coya and Hakkasan, as well as Russian Novikov. In Mandarin Oriental the concept is different. It is based on the main restaurant Rawya, which accumulates the cuisines of different regions. A different chef is responsible for each direction. So guests can taste Japanese, Indian, Arabic and Mediterranean dishes, as well as quite universal European and North American hits in one place.
Lost in the mountains
Oman is home to about 5.2 million people, but the population is extremely unevenly distributed. Most people are concentrated in the northern and southern parts of the country - closer to the mountains, which provide a gentler climate (which is especially important in the exhausting summer heat), and also allow to solve the problem with water supply, which is painful for all the countries of the Arabian Peninsula. It is not surprising that these places were also chosen for the creation of premium tourist infrastructure.
If you drive northwest from Muscat along the long mountain range, you can reach the Alila Jabal Akhdar, lost in the mountains, in about two and a half hours. Perched on the edge of a majestic canyon, where the sun falls every evening, the hotel is built in the style of a traditional Omani house. Guests are welcomed in a spacious lobby by a large fireplace, and are served in the restaurant, where not the most exquisite Omani cuisine has been honestly tried to bring to the level of high gastronomy. The local chef's arsenal includes current culinary techniques, organic products from the surrounding farms, balanced, not overloaded with ingredients, and modern presentation of dishes.
However, demanding guests do not come to this far for the food, but first of all for the opportunity to live in the mountains for a few days in serenity, to completely reboot. And to do it with the highest possible comfort.
Rest in Alila Jabal Akhdar makes sense to combine with a visit to the town of Nizwa, an hour and a half drive from the hotel. The Omanis themselves believe that the traditions of their national life are best preserved there. They themselves often come here for a couple or three days to touch their roots. The historical center with a mighty citadel is surrounded by a medieval fortress wall, inside there are endless labyrinths of narrow streets, old houses made of clay and stone, mosques, shops, small coffee houses.
However, the main thing in Nizva is some special, hard to grasp, emphasized measured and beguiling by its non-modernity rhythm of life, which today is so lacking in the inhabitants of any metropolis. Once they ran away from it - to civilization, and now they are ready to pay very dearly to find it again, at least for a while.
Away from the road
The small exclave of Musandam, located on the northeastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, which rests on the Strait of Hormuz, deserves a separate conversation. The easiest way to get here is from Dubai Airport, which is about 150 km to the southwest. The journey together with the border crossing in Jeddah takes about two hours.
The exclave is separated from neighboring Ras al-Khaimah by the same Hajar Mountains, but the landscape is significantly different. The rugged terrain is almost devoid of vegetation. The landscape is decorated only by camels and goats, looking for something inexplicably in the middle of bare rocks. From time to time there are small settlements along the roads. However, when you get to the fjord-cut coastline, you literally enter a different reality.
Behind another ridge, in a picturesque mountain amphitheater, the Six Senses Zighy Bay Hotel is quiet, cozy and comfortable. It offers only spacious villas, built in traditional, deliberately rough style of stone and wood. Each villa has a swimming pool and a small Bedouin summer house, where it is pleasant to hide from the scorching sun. Under your feet there is no asphalt, only snow-white sand, on which you want to walk barefoot. That's how everyone walks, and at each threshold there are mats and warm water tanks to wash off the grains of sand. The hotel has a large and spacious private beach on the shore of the bay, which is not often found even in the most prestigious resorts in the region.
By the way, the bay and the surrounding mountains can be admired from a bird's eye view. If you do not have your own helicopter, you can use a paraglider with an experienced instructor. For those who prefer to stay close to the land, there are trips on a comfortable yacht on the neighboring fjords, with open water swimming, sea fishing and delicious dinner, including freshly caught trophies. There are plenty of fish in the bay, so there is sure to be a catch. Finally, there is a small house reef where you can dive and almost certainly encounter slow-moving sea turtles.
The hotel itself has several restaurants. Spice Market offers Middle Eastern cuisine, while Summer House and Mezzeria offer European cuisine. A private BBQ-party can be booked in the villa with local lobster and succulent lamb. Or enjoy the views of the evening bay at a table in the mountain-top restaurant Sense on the Edge. As a pleasant bonus, there's a velvet starry sky and the soothing sound of the surf.
