Quarterly hotel revenues in Oman rose 8.4% year-on-year to RO85.4 million ($222 million) in Q1 2026, according to real estate advisory and hospitality sector property consultant Cavendish Maxwell.

The sustained revenue growth – achieved despite a softer hospitality sector performance during the quarter – was primarily driven by room revenues, which climbed 13% to RO53.2 million, the company said.

Revenue performance was strongest at the start of the year, increasing almost 27% in January and nearly 9% in February compared to January and February last year. March revenues declined 21% against March 2025.

Average room rates climbed 15.5% year-on-year to reach RO57.5 in Q1, supported by robust performance in January (RO58.3) and February (RO61), representing increases of nearly 19% and more than 20% against the same months last year. The March 2026 average room rate of just under RO50 was on a par with as March 2025.

Cavendish Maxwell’s latest analysis of Oman’s hospitality sector reveals that hotels welcomed 572,000 guests in Q1. Year-on-year, check-ins in January rose more than 7% compared to January 2025, but, overall, Q1 saw guest numbers decline just under 6% as travel plans shifted because of Ramadan, Eid and regional disruption.

Khalil Al Zadjali, Head of Oman at Cavendish Maxwell, said: “The divergence between revenue and room rate growth and lower guest volumes in Q1 shows that Oman hotels maintained their pricing power despite reduced occupancy during the quarter. In addition, employment in the hospitality sector expanded in Q1, with the job market growing 2.1% compared to the same period last year. By the end of March, Oman’s hotel industry employed nearly 11,300 people.”

Occupancy rates at Oman’s 3 to 5-star hotels peaked in January at almost 70%, a jump of nearly 11% from January 2025, before contracting in February and March.

Average occupancy across Q1 stood at just over 56%, down around 5% on the same time last year.

European visitors remained the top source market for Oman in Q1, despite an 11% year-on-year decline. Some 206,000 guests from Europe stayed at Oman hotels between January and March, more than a third (36%) of all visitors. 

In second place were Omani nationals (31%), with arrivals increasing 3% to reach 177,000. Next were Asian visitors (15%), with other source markets making up the remaining 18%.

Oman airport traffic reached 3.46 million passengers in Q1, a 2.4% decline on the same period last year. However, the domestic market stayed resilient, growing 3.5% compared to Q1 last year.

With international passengers accounting for 87% of all air travellers, any reduction impacts overall airport performance, Cavendish Maxwell said.

Around 430 new hotel keys were delivered in Oman between January and March, with another 1,200 in the pipeline for the rest of the year, when total supply is set to reach 41,400.

An additional 2,700 keys are planned for the next two years, bringing the total to around 44,100 by the end of 2028.

Al Zadjali added: “If tourism activity strengthens and leisure travel returns to normal in the second half of the year, this additional new capacity, which will be delivered in phases, should gradually be absorbed by the market.  Looking ahead, government measures to strengthen Oman’s tourism offering – including enhanced connectivity and expanding international reach through airline and travel trade partnerships – are expected to support longer term growth in demand and help create a more diversified tourism base. We are likely to see the impact of these initiatives materialise gradually, with near-term performance remaining dependent on broader travel conditions and visitor sentiment.” -TradeArabia News Service