World Tourism Day celebrated annually on September 27 is typically marked by numerous events and activities dedicated to the tourism sector. In the Sultanate of Oman, tourism institutions play a major role in promoting the country's tourism vision and its manifestations. The country is now firmly on the global tourism map, boasting a wealth of attractions that can attract tourists year-round. Relevant institutions are also working to document the concept of tourism in order to protect tourist sites and enhance infrastructure, particularly in locations with high potential for medical tourism.

The tourism sector has economic and social strength, providing more jobs for citizens; and promoting training and educational projects for them to join this vital industry. Through Oman Vision 2040, the government is continuously focusing on diversifying the country's tourism offerings, including medical tourism. It is also working to establish new tourism investment projects to increase the capacity of hotels, tourist lodgings and venues; and to provide the services tourists need during their travels across Oman.

The goal of World Tourism Day is to raise awareness of the importance of tourism in economic, social and cultural development. It also highlights the role of tourism in fostering understanding between peoples, focusing on issues such as sustainable tourism, innovation and digital transformation in this sector. In 2023, the Sultanate of Oman hosted the official celebration of World Tourism Day for the first time, which strengthened country’s global image as a safe and natural tourist destination, supporting Oman Vision 2040 to diversify the economy through tourism. It also promoted areas such as the mountains, desert, hot springs and marine environments; and opened doors to foreign investment in tourism projects.

Of late, Oman has begun to focus on medical tourism, combining leisure and wellness, with tourists traveling to specific locations to benefit from natural resources such as mineral springs, sulfurous waters, volcanic mud, a healthy climate and medical resorts for treatment, recreation, or rehabilitation. The importance of medical tourism lies in providing health benefits to people for treating bone, rheumatic and skin diseases, in addition to improving psychological wellbeing and reducing stress and depression. It also provides rehabilitation for some patients after surgery or recovering from injuries.

Wellness and medical tourism undoubtedly stimulate the local economy and increase income through medical tourists, in addition to providing job opportunities in the health, hotel, accommodation, transportation; and other sectors. This also helps exploit the country's natural resources, such as hot sulfur springs, which provide patients with alternative and natural treatments at reasonable prices.

Oman needs more government investment to regulate hot spring sites and treatment facilities to support these important trends. The prosperity of medical tourism requires good government organisation and high-quality health services. Oman possesses many promising components for medical tourism, relying on natural factors such as hot and sulfur springs, mountain caves and a healthy climate, in addition to mountainous and marine nature, as well as folk medicine and traditional treatments that are still used in some areas. All of these sites require further investment to regulate access and provide parking spaces, in addition to providing other health services.

To date, medical tourism has not been fully exploited and relies more on local tourism and folk remedies. This requires changing this perception and making medical tourism an important tourism offering.

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