Guiding the Future of Tourism Development and Management in Oman’s Capital City
Oman Ministry of Housing & Urban Planning
Muscat, Oman
Engagement: 2022 – 2023
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning of Oman retained a consortium of advisors to create the Greater Muscat Strategy Plan (GMSP). The plan aims to position Muscat as a world-class, cosmopolitan, and sustainable city, rooted in Oman’s traditional and cultural values while also enhancing Muscat’s status as the capital.
Twenty31 was appointed to lead the tourism workstream within the consortium, with the goal to position Muscat to capitalize on the country’s hospitality legacy, its modern infrastructure, and its unparalleled natural and cultural draws.
Situational assessment and stakeholder engagement
We developed a tourism situational analysis report that outlined the current tourism supply and demand, performance trends, and the competitive context for Oman – both regionally within the Middle East and globally. Beyond leaning on relevant existing data, we conducted extensive policy and trend secondary research, participated in a familiarization trip of city hard and soft infrastructure assets and a series of stakeholder workshops with city business and government opinion leaders.
Innovation lab
We organized an Innovation Lab with Oman’s key tourism stakeholders to review findings and develop a common tourism vision for the city. Lab discussions covered guiding principles, key opportunities, and threats to that vision. Input from the Lab was summarized in a report used by the internal urban planning team to understand tourism-related visioning perspectives.
Tourism strategy visualization
Using our GIS mapping framework, we spatially displayed all existing and proposed tourism assets and evaluated their forward potential based on a series of growth scenarios projected over the next two decades.
We provided Muscat with a holistic, city-wide tourism strategy that was presented to, and approved by, His Excellency, Dr. Khalfan bin Saeed al Shuaili, Minister of Housing and Urban Planning. This strategy will be embedded within the destination’s master development plan.
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Guiding the Future of Tourism Development and Management in Oman’s Capital City
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