Welcome to the Sultanate of Oman

Oman is a country of enormous diversity and natural beauty, which, while it has much to attract the discerning traveller, had until recent years been largely overlooked by international tourists.

The government was anxious not to promote the Sultanate to tourists until it was ready to accommodate them. Now, with an enviable infrastructure securely in place, a wide range of international hotels and a wealth of things to see and do, Oman is ready to offer its traditional hospitality to visitors from around the world. By the end of 2002, the number of hotels and hotel apartments in the country stood at 124 and 6,078 respectively. Some 1.1 million visitors, who together spent a total of 3.9 million nights in Oman in 2002, spent an estimated RO92 million.

Work on developing further facilities has been constantly ongoing. Indicative of the importance the government affords this sector was the issue of Royal Decree No. 61/2004, establishing a Ministry of Tourism and appointing a woman as its minister.

Fact File

Capital: Muscat

Government: Monarchy with a provisional legislature (the Majlis Ash Shura)

Head of State: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said

Major industries: Oil, natural gas, agriculture, and fishing

Ruling body: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said is Head of State and rules by decree. He is assisted by a cabinet of ministers, Diwan of the Royal Court (the central body of bureaucratic affairs), and the Majlis Ash Shura, a body of representatives elected by the populace.

Population: Approximately 2 million. Around 1.5 million are Omani nationals. The remaining are expatriates from India, Asia, other Arab countries, Europe and USA.

Area: The Sultanate encompasses an area of 300,000 sq kms.

Airport: Seeb international airport, 40 km from Muscat city centre.

Seeb International Airport, located in Muscat, serves many international airlines such as British Airways, KLM, Kuwait Airways, Swiss Air and Emirates. The national carrier is Oman Air, which flies to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), India, Pakistan, Qatar, Egypt, and Sri Lanka as well as performing domestic flights to Salalah, Masirah Island and Musandam.

Climate: The country's climate is predominantly arid and varies slightly from one region to another. In the coastal areas, the weather is hot and humid during the summer months, while it is dry elsewhere in the interior. Milder weather dominates the mountains and Dhofar region all the year round. Winter temperatures can be as low as 15°Celsius and summer temperatures can be as high as 48° Celsius in Muscat and as high as 54° in the desert.

Dhofar, located in the southernv region of the country however, enjoys a regular monsoon between June and October, every year.

Average Temperature in Oman (in Degree Celsius)

Summer Winter

Day Night Day Night

Muscat 43 C 32 C 25 C 17 C

Salalah 30 C 28 C 28 C 20 C

Why Travel to Oman?

If you want to see a traditional Gulf country this is the one. Untainted by overdevelopement or money madness and ruled by an unusually sensible and respected Sultan [Qaboos], this country offers great beaches, rocky mountains, a classic desert, forts and friendly, tolerant locals.