In recent years, Oman's tourism sector has focused on roping in upmarket travellers to propel the growth of the industry and promote the sultanate in the global arena as a unique attraction - an initiative that has resulted in developing luxury offerings such as the marinas to encourage activities like yachting and other forms of nautical tourism.
With total investments pegged at around US$250mn, each of the latest marina developments are aimed at offering a unique experience for tourists and have hence sought international expertise in the design phase and operations.
The Wave Muscat will house the first mangroves landscaped marina in Oman and the third such offering in the world with the largest gangway of about 4m wide. This marina, which is currently in the soft launch phase with 25 berths, is looking to have upto 120 berths operational by this year end. It can expand up to 400 berths.
Jebel Sifah is the latest marina to open in Oman operational since late March, complementing the marina town development with mountainous surroundings and ancient villages which serve as backdrop. It has a capacity to house up to a 100 boats.
The Salalah Beach Marina, on the other hand, is the first marina in the region. Also being developed as a marina town, the upcoming marina can promote fishing activities as it gives access to fishing grounds of the Indian Ocean and Halaniyat Islands, says Philip A Jones, managing director, Orascom Marina Management. It has a capacity of about 170 berths and is set for a soft launch after the khareef season. Each of these new marinas can accommodate boats of 8m to 65m in length.
Shangri La Barr al Jissah Resort & Spa's marina, that has been operational for a year now, has been developed as a boutique marina that can take up to 60 luxury yachts, available purely for VIPs residing in Oman and visiting dignitaries.
Till date, most of the demand for berthing is seen arising from the UAE, but Salem al Mamari, director general of tourism development says that a study by the Ministry of Tourism predicts that demand for yachting tourism in Oman could increase by 20 per cent in the next three years, provided global market conditions remain stable.
"Oman has been identified as one of the most attractive destinations for yachting. The location of the marinas are scattered across different areas that gives customers more options and each marina is a unique experience.
These are the elements that differentiate Oman from other countries in the region. In ten years' time, Oman and Dubai will become two of the most popular destinations around the world for yachting." Other areas of nautical tourism such as water sports, diving, charter services and dolphin watching are also expected to witness marked growth that will propel the development of the surrounding areas.
Now, as each of the marinas are moving along to the next phase of growth, the pressure is on to enhance their visibility in the global arena by adopting the right marketing approach and hiring experienced hands for maintenance and repair of boats to keep up international quality standards.
Promoting luxury
For a product such as the marina, operators across the board have pointed out that word-of-mouth-marketing is the best approach to make a luxury offering known in the international arena. Each marina has identified a target market.
The Wave's Almouj marina is for all segments of the market as it can cater to small boats as well as luxury yacht owners. Matthew Bate, marina operator of Almouj, says the main focus is on the local market
as more Omanis are looking to own yachts but many have refrained till date due to the lack of berths. "Promoting the product as a lifestyle will help rope in residents from outside The Wave as people don't need to necessarily own a boat to come to the marina restaurant." Having said that, the aim to have 120 berths operational by the end of this year and the ability to expand up to 400 berths, throws the marina open to travellers from the GCC region and beyond.
For Jebel Sifah, the main focus is on the middle segment and upmarket clients. An operator such as Shangri La on the other hand, is only looking at select clients and high end customers and undertakes a thorough review of the client profile before they can lease out their berths.
"This ensures that our customers have full privacy and that the marina does not get too crowded," says Mark Kirk, general manager, Shangri La's Barr al Jissah Resort & Spa. Almouj marina and Jebel Sifah have till date got mostly short-term contract customers who lease out berths on a daily basis but both are targeting year long contracts.
Shangri La's marina has witnessed an occupancy rate of 75 per cent since the advent of its operations a year back mostly from those clients seeking year-long contracts for berthing.
Marina operators point out that being associated with experienced operators in the region helps when it comes to capturing the attention of high end travellers.
For instance, the marina at Barr al Jissah is associated with the Shangri La brand of hotels and restaurants. Jebel Sifah's marina along with the upcoming one at Salalah are both managed by Egypt's Orascom Marina Management company that already has a strong presence in the region. Almouj marina is being run by Dubai-based operator, Mourjan Marinas.
Having renowned hotels and retail stores surrounding the marina also helps it earn a good reputation. The Wave Muscat will house the Fairmont and Kempinski hotels. It already has retail outlets such as Costa and WHSmith. At Jebel Sifah, new developments such as the Sifawy and Missoni hotels have garnered enough curiosity from the general public, while the Salalah Beach Marina will have well-known hotels such as Club Mediteranee and Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts to enhance their marina offerings.
The next wave
Each of the marinas are now entering a new phase of growth to cater to the anticipated demand for yachting and nautical tourism. The Wave's Almouj marina will have 120 berths open by the end of this year and will further expand to include 400 berths. The operator is also looking to rope in more retail chains that can enhance its marina offering. For Jebel Sifah, the main focus is to now establish a ferry service. Jones says the operator is negotiating with National Ferries that can help establish a direct link between The Wave's marina, Bander Rowdha, Shangri La and Jebel Sifah.
Orascom Marina Management is also looking to set up immigration services at the marina to avoid having tourists undergo immigration at the Port of Sultan Qaboos first. Jones added that they are looking to have more F&B outlets and retail stores in the surrounding area.
Shangri La has developed a housing community in the area and is looking to set up its own rescue boats and shuttle service operations to deliver food to its customers visiting islands like Bandar Khiran. At the Salalah Beach Marina, managers are waiting to assess the demand before planning the next phase of development.
Edward Corry, manager at the Salalah Beach Marina, says the demand is expected to be robust as many commercial establishments and fishing companies are already present in the area.
Mamari points out that promotional efforts have to be stepped up by the ministry as well as the marina operators to enhance demand. In the local market, the yachting concept is still fairly new to Oman, he points out. "But having more marinas will help bring down berth rates due to the increased competition and that may encourage more Omanis to buy yachts."
For the international arena, the Ministry of Tourism is promoting the marinas in the tourism exhibitions that they participate in.
Having premium names associated with the marinas alone cannot enhance their value as maintenance and repair services offered should be top notch.
Shangri La's executives claim that they have not faced any challenges with bringing in the right expertise for maintenance and repair of boats. However, Anees al Riyami, Shangri La's marina manager says the marinas in Oman do not get any safety instructions from the Coast guard on the kind of boats and equipment one should have in cases of emergency and that such issues should soon be addressed.
For the new marinas at The Wave and Jebel Sifah, operators are bringing in external consultants for boat repair and maintenance services. Corry, however, says that hiring the right expertise around the Salalah region for maintenance, repair and other marina operations is a challenge.
"It is also difficult to work in a remote developing area as the infrastructure is not fully developed," he adds.
The marina projects that are coming up in Oman are moving in tandem with the development of each of the regions that they are situated in. For instance, the Sifah area is still witnessing a town development, while Salalah has key infrastructure projects such as airports coming up.
Complementing the development of the marinas itself are the new golf courses developing alongside to offer a complete luxury package to tourists.
Industry onlookers point out that businesses such as restaurants and retail chains surrounding these developments will also witness a boom in the days ahead once the marinas are fully operational. This, in turn, may encourage other businesses to set up shop in the area, all of which paints a promising future for Oman to emerge as a unique tourism hub in the coming years.
© businesstoday 2012
