Muscat – Passenger traffic at Oman’s airports declined slightly in the first seven months of 2025, while hotels across the country posted strong growth in revenues, guest numbers and occupancy, according to new figures from the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).

The total number of passengers passing through Oman’s airports stood at 8,366,273 by the end of July, down 1.3% from 8,478,607 during the same period in 2024.

Muscat International Airport, the country’s main gateway, handled 7,453,204 passengers, a 1.5% decrease compared with last year. The number of flights through the airport also fell 5.9% to 53,170.

Salalah Airport, however, recorded growth, with passenger numbers rising 5.2% to 870,616 and flight movements up 1.4% to 5,881. Sohar Airport saw a sharp decline, with traffic down 85.3% to 6,831 passengers and flights falling to 130. Duqm Airport reported a modest 2.4% rise in passengers to 35,622, though flight movements slipped to 360.

Omanis remained the largest group of travellers through Muscat International Airport in July, with 210,239 passengers, followed by Indian nationals at 186,402 and Pakistani nationals at 47,777.

Hotels’ growth

While air traffic slowed, Oman’s 3- to 5-star hotels reported marked improvements. Guest numbers rose 8.5% to 1,309,755 by the end of July, compared with 1,206,630 in the same period of 2024. Revenues climbed 17.4% to RO155.615mn, against RO132.553mn last year.

Average occupancy rates increased to 52.9%, up from 46.7% a year earlier, underlining stronger demand across the hospitality sector.

Growth was broad-based across most source markets. Oceania registered the highest increase at 57.3%, with 27,050 guests. Visitors from Africa rose 35.8% to 8,792, while arrivals from the Americas were up 24.3% at 43,413. European tourists grew 19.9% to 370,590.

Regional markets also strengthened. GCC visitors increased 7.8% to 110,501, and Omani guests rose 5.2% to 468,854.

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