The tourism industry is all set to take off with new projects’ investments running into billions of rials. But where is the manpower to manage the sector’s growing demand? Sarada Vishnubhatla and Kimberly Rodrigues look at the real picture

The outlook for the tourism sector is bright in the Sultanate of Oman for the next few years to come. The Middle East is on the verge of an investment extravaganza in the tourism sector unlike anything the global industry has ever witnessed. At least US$1trillion will be poured into hotels, resorts, attractions and associated infrastructure between now and 2020 and Oman is riding high on the wave. Oman is actively promoting itself as an adventure holiday destination. It’s also pushing its potential for medical tourism, using its hospitals and health facilities, to draw international visitors needing specialised care. According to Global Futures and Foresight report released in early May, the GCC region will see the capacity of its airports increase by an extra 300 million passengers; another 200 hotels built adding 100,000 beds and the number of visitors rises to 150 million. These figures are based on projects already announced and do not take into account developments that have yet to make it to the planning stage.

Policy makers and His Majesty have made suitable budgetary plans in the Economic Vision 2020 to push the country forward, spearheaded by the tourism sector. Year 2007 is the mid-point. This sector is recognised as one of the most important ones that will pump in revenue for a flourishing economy, independent of oil and gas reserves and the revenue produced thereby.

The Government has also amended a number of laws and regulations to attract foreign investment in this sector. And the country looks towards the vibrant private sector to help it keep in pace with the overall development and growth.

Grand objectives
The tourism industry witnessed an all-time high in the last couple of years. The high occupancy rates the hotels witnessed in 2005 gathered an even higher momentum in 2006. Oman’s fast-expanding portfolio of hotels and hotel apartments posted very encouraging performance, wresting the initiative from other tourist destinations in the region. The further objectives of the tourism sector include encouraging the role and contribution of the private sector, development of human resources within the sector and raising the percentage of Omani work force. The sector’s contribution to the GDP is aimed to grow to 3 per cent by 2020.

The value of local and foreign private investment during the Sixth Five-Year Plan amounted to RO113 million. The private sector, supported by the incentives provided by the government, managed to implement projects worth RO90 million. The major projects include Barr Al Jissah Resort, the first stage of Mirbat Resort and the Chedi Resort, in addition to a number of hotels in different parts of the Sultanate. The government offers packages, incentives and tax exemptions to private sector players willing to invest in the tourism sector. As far as overseas investors are concerned, the government has allowed them to own properties in tourism projects.

Going by Vision 2020, the sector is driven by a few key aims:

1. Achieve at least seven per cent annual growth rate by the end of the Seventh Five-Year Plan.

2. Support the balance of payment through foreign currency revenues.

3. Achieve 85 per cent Omanisation rate in existing hotels, 30 per cent in new hotels, 90 per cent for air carriers, restaurants, rent-a-car and travel agencies. Compliance is in line with the recommendations of the Third National Manpower Seminar.

4. Promote the Sultanate as a tourist hub and secure a prominent place for it on the world tourism map.

5. Achieve regional balance in tourism development.

6. Commitment to the principles of sustainable tourism development by taking into consideration the economic, cultural and social dimensions.

7. Increase the investments by activating the contributions of the sector to GDP.

8. Secure maximum benefit for local communities and encourage entrepreneurship.

9. Improve the quality of service.

10. Encourage domestic tourism.

The role of the private sector in the national economy in general and in the tourism sector in particular, is vital. The private sector is expected to come forward to invest in different tourism related activities so that the government can focus on building infrastructure and create a favourable environment for international investors.

Manpower needs
Market projections indicate that a total of US$10 billion is going to be pumped in tourism and related projects such as The Wave, Yitti Resort, Al Sawadi Resort (first stage), Merbat, Sefeyah Resort, Shinas Resort, etc. in the coming years. The tourism industry is already feeling the heat with the shortage of trained and experienced professionals. With number of hotel rooms expected to double in the next three years, from where the industry is going to source its manpower requirement? With similar or higher growth taking place in the regional market, the demand for industry professionals is already at an all time high outside Oman as well.

Currently, more than 50 per cent of the hotel employees are expatriates. There are very few training colleges in Oman that provide tourism-related training and they also have limited capacities. For example, the Oman College for Tourism had just 181 students in 2005-06.

Speculating about the future of the industry, Robert MacLean, Principal of National Hospitality Institute, says, “Within a span of two to three years, there is going to be a demand of around 6,000 hotel rooms in Oman and approximately one to one-and-a-half staff will be required per room”.

Though the training institutes have trained thousands to create industry professionals so far but their capacity is not good enough to meet the demand in the future.

Training institutes see this development as a big challenge and the pressure is on them with regard to the type of training imparted to the candidates and the kind of workforce and professionals they are expected to deliver based on the needs of the client because customers now have very high standards, says MacLean.

He adds, “Our strategy now is to develop courses on a higher level which include the latest ideas and methods in hospitality training. At present, we are training our candidates in Opera, a latest front office reservation system. Candidates are chosen not only for a specific skill but also for their particular mindset”.

Battling shortage
As Oman is experiencing an economic boom, many prospective candidates for the hospitality industry have joined other sectors like retailing and IT. Therefore, though the numbers are available, training institutes are left to convince students to pursue a career in the hospitality industry. The National Hospitality Institute goes about this task by talking to students in the interiors of the country, encouraging them through advertising and brochures, making a visual impact via the television and internet, conducting fun competitions, emphasising the fun side of a hospitality job, providing job security after training as well as re-designing and making the uniforms attractive.

Desmond Hatton, GM, Shangri La Barr al Jissah Resort & Spa, says, “It is an issue to find employees not just in Oman but in the international market also. It is becoming more and more difficult. The traditional feeder markets for employees are offering equally good opportunities to their locals. Currently we have around 47 nationalities. We have to sit back and re-evaluate from where the people are going to come.”

On the way forward, he says, “Oman needs to develop more stress on English in the curriculum in the school. We need to get a training institute directly related to a hotel. The new kids that come from the training institutes don’t have much real practical experience. We should work towards a system where the students study for three days in the institute and three days in the hotel. That’s what we have done in Europe.”

Adding further, he says, “We are looking at the feasibility of starting our own hospitality training institute. We have one in China. It will be a win-win situation, not just for us but for other new upcoming projects as well.”

Many employers in the hotel industry are now seeing the value of employing locals as customers want to experience the rich culture of Oman directly. This has led to a strong local base in many hotels on a variety of ranks. As MacLean says, “Oman is chosen as a location over others in the Arabian Gulf due to the country’s rich and unusual culture. Therefore, many employers now see employing Omanis as a strong selling point for their hotel.”

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