Regional Visitors Keep Oman’s Arrivals Steady but Can’t Fill Its Hotels

Photo Caption: Traditional dhow boat in Muscat, Oman. Oman’s hotels are taking a far bigger hit from the U.S.-Iran war than the country’s headline arrival numbers suggest, Skift’s analysis of tourism data shows. The country received 2.5 million visitors from January to August, down 0.8% year over year, according to the National Centre for Statistics and Information’s (NCSI) latest tourism report. The figures are the most recent available official arrivals data. In 2025, the country drew nearly 4 million visitors, against a Vision 2040 long-term target of 11 million a year. Over the first eight months of this year, guest numbers at Oman’s three- to five-star hotels fell 10.7% to 1.35 million, shrinking hotel revenue by 11% to 156.5 million Omani rials ($407 million). The most recent data shows no recovery. September occupancy at Oman hotels fell 6.4 percentage points year over year to 47.3% from 53.7%, according to CoStar. Average daily rate dr