Renovation of hotels won’t hit Salalah tourism

Muscat: Luxury rooms in Oman will not suffer from a squeeze this summer, senior officials in the hospitality industry told the Times of Oman.
However, this would mean that some tourists can explore far flung places, such as Salalah and Masirah.
Florian Wessel, director of revenue, Sheraton Oman Hotel, said: “Summer is generally a low season with regards to occupancy. Many properties tend to schedule renovation around this period. There has been a steady growth in the hospitality and tourism sector; however a recent increase in room supply has forced properties to maintain low room rates to ensure sustainability.
“A couple of properties shutting down for renovation will not have a drastic impact. The oil crisis within the region has not helped our cause either. However, in the long run what will define our sales is the quality of our service and product.”
The same was echoed by Stefan Radstrom, general manager for the Grand Hyatt Hotel.
“Oman’s tourism will not be severely affected by the renovations across hotels, because the peak tourist period is from October to April, and there are many new hotels coming up, such as the Kempinski Hotel at the Wave Muscat, which should be ready to welcome tourists later this year.”
Cluster General Manager Nuno Neves for Park Inn Muscat and Park Inn Duqm, said: “Not really, because we have other “luxury” products in the market, like our sister hotel Hormuz Grand Hotel, part of our luxury product of Rezidor Hotels. Also, the Shangri-la Hotel will continue its path of consistency on this level.”
He also said prices will not shoot up in other hotels as there will be less room available.
“Not really, because we are witnessing growth in room inventory every year, which is dumping the prices overall. We at the Park Inn Hotel Muscat, are trying our best to be in line with everyone’s capacities, offering a very high level service, including our “new” beach resort, where our guests can enjoy a golden moment of relaxation by the ocean,” he said.
However, while Muscat may not see a large influx of tourists this summer, hotels in Salalah are ramping up in anticipation of the visitors, who will flock to the region for the Khareef Festival.
“Our busy tourist season begins in the summer, because of the Khareef Festival, which really transforms Salalah and the surrounding areas and makes it completely green,” said Rhoda Nuhu, assistant director of marketing and communications at Rotana Salalah. “If hotels in Muscat are renovating their rooms, it means more of them will come to Salalah and other areas and explore other parts of Oman, because there is so much to see in Oman apart from the capital itself.” “Oman has some great natural beauty across the country and it’s a great place for outdoor activities, such as hiking, mountain climbing, diving etc, and there’s a lot to explore across the Sultanate.”