Oman's hotels are struggling despite stable overall visitor arrivals to the country. The nation received 2.5 million visitors from January to August, down just 0.8% year over year, according to the National Centre for Statistics and Information. Yet three- to five-star hotels lost 10.7% of guests and 11% of revenue during the same period, dropping to 1.35 million guests and 156.5 million Omani rials ($407 million) in revenue.
Regional travelers are sustaining arrivals but staying shorter and paying less. European visitors have largely stayed away. September occupancy at Oman hotels fell 6.4 percentage points year over year to 47.3%, per CoStar data. The decline reflects pressure from the U.S.-Iran conflict on the tourism sector, even as total arrival figures remain relatively flat.