Five major tourism projects in Oman aimed at attracting both international and domestic tourists are expected to get the green signal from authorities before the year-end, a senior tourism official has said.

The projects are part of a long-term plan to develop projects that will encourage longer stays by foreign tourists and also promote domestic tourism, Wael bin Ahmed Al Lawati, CEO, Oman Tourism Development Company (Omran), was quoted as saying by the Times of Oman.

Feasibility studies on some of the projects have been completed, but approval is awaited from the board for the implementation, he said on the sidelines of Dossier Construction Summit 2014, organised by the United Media Services, in Muscat, Oman, last week.

The proposed projects will include a theme park and an eco-tourism scheme. Plans are also under way to develop forts, castles and old towns with the help of a heritage company to be set up for this purpose, he said in the report.
 
“Some of these will be developed into heritage hotels. This is a major focus,” said Al Lawati.