Sea turtles tourism in Oman: Current status and future prospects

Abstract

This paper provides an overview of the current status and future potentials of nature-based tourism in the Sultanate of Oman with particular focus on sea turtles at Ras Al Hadd. The paper uses objective yardsticks such as inbound tourist arrivals, nationality and spending patterns, seasonality, employment, as well as gross domestic product contribution derived from secondary data from national and international sources to appraise the current situation. Additionally, based on the review of relevant literature, a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis is used to summarize relevant socioeconomic, political, environmental, and regulatory issues. While there is strong evidence of government commitment to develop nature-based tourism in the country, a number of key issues related to tourist facilities, human activities, environmental conditions, economic research, and capacity development are highlighted for further attention. Most importantly, the analysis suggests a potential to increase the contribution of sustainable sea turtle tourism to Oman’s gross domestic product. To realize this potential the sector needs to (1) consider the seasonal variation of tourists, (2) develop its accommodation capabilities especially at sites with ecological uniqueness while ensuring minimum negative impacts on biodiversity, (3) increase the number of Omani nationals employed in the tourism industry and improve their skills through training, (4) develop marketing tools to attract the dominant inbound ecotourism groups to the country, (5) enhance sustainable planning implementation in the Omani tourism sector, and (6) most importantly ensure an effective implementation of legislation protecting sea turtles and their habitats. It is hoped that policymakers can use these findings to set a direction on sustainable sea turtle tourism in Oman, while promoting the effective conservation of these species.

Tourism research for the GCC region: Current status and future research directions

“…their topics and research findings) revealed the following six main themes: state religion and tourism (Zamani-Farahani and Henderson, 2010); food security and tourism (Pirani and Arafat, 2016); tourism and growth (Saleh et al, 2015); tourism and immigrants (Balli et al, 2018, 2019); tourism and the environment (Gladstone et al, 2013); and finally tourism planning and development (e.g. Busaidi et al, 2019; Ebrahim and Ganguli, 2017; Michael et al, 2019; Sharpley, 2008). The last of these themes is the most dominant research topic, accounting for 65.21% of the total research.…”

“…Even though the tourism sector is growing as the second section shows, it faces several barriers to destination development. Depending on the country, these include (i) dependence on foreign labor, (ii) insufficient enforcement of existing regulations, (iii) weak tourism infrastructure and facilities in some countries, (iv) strong competition between GCC countries to provide an almost identical tourism product, (v) the risk of political unrest, (vi) social and cultural norms that may contradict the expectations of Western tourists, and (vii) a lack of effective coordination and partnership among service providers and public–private partnerships (Busaidi et al, 2019; Henderson, 2006, 2015; Mansfeld and Winckler, 2007, 2008; Sharpley, 2002). On the other hand, the GCC countries are endowed with factors that can facilitate destination development, such as (i) a developed infrastructure for water sports activities and a well-preserved marine and desert ecotourism setting, (ii) a stable and safe environment, (iii) a welcoming local population that creates a positive perception among travelers, (iv) modern infrastructure and communications, (v) developed shopping facilities and amenities (e.g.…”

“…On the other hand, the GCC countries are endowed with factors that can facilitate destination development, such as (i) a developed infrastructure for water sports activities and a well-preserved marine and desert ecotourism setting, (ii) a stable and safe environment, (iii) a welcoming local population that creates a positive perception among travelers, (iv) modern infrastructure and communications, (v) developed shopping facilities and amenities (e.g. luxurious hotels, man-made artificial attractions like Palm Island in Dubai, Pearl in Qatar, and the Hili Fun City in Abu Dhabi) with a compact tourism space, (vi) new and unexplored destinations with a well-preserved landscape, cultural symbols, and heritage (in this sense, GCC countries are at their takeoff point in the “tourism life cycle”), and (vii) easy access by air with expanding air route networks (Busaidi et al, 2019; Henderson, 2006, 2015; Mansfeld and Winckler, 2007, 2008; Sharpley, 2002; Stephenson, 2014).…”

The Impact of Leadership on Employee Innovative Work Behaviour in Facilities Management Service Providers in Oman

“…Oman is presently succeeding with the governmental strategies in addition to plans to turn its economy from oil-based to a tourism-based economy (Faghih & Zali, 2018;Al Busaidi et al, 2018). Oman has been a member of World Trade Organization (WTO) since 2000.…”

Solvency determinants: evidence from the Takaful insurance industry

“…Several large-scale infrastructure projects in the GCC are planned, in line with the future economic visions of many GCC countries. 1 The implementation of these long term economic plans promises a secure future for the development of Takaful industry (Elkaftangui and Mohamed 2019;Busaidi et al 2019;Alshuwaikhat et al 2016;Diab 2015;Goodman et al 2015;Alobaidi et al 2015;Al-Maadid et al 2018).…”