Eid bookings surge for Oman hotels despite Iran war disruption

• Sultanate has five-day holiday
• 64,000 guests booked in
• More buses scheduled from land borders

Oman’s hotels are reporting a surge in Eid bookings from Gulf travellers, even as the Iran war brings attacks on the sultanate and disrupts regional travel.

Nearly 64,000 guests booked into Omani hotels for this year’s Eid al Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan, and about 70 percent are from neighbouring Gulf countries, according to the department of tourism.

It is an increase of about 60 percent year-on-year compared to Eid last year, the statistics show. 

The data also shows that tourists from the UAE accounted for the biggest number of visitors followed by those from Saudi Arabia and Qatar.   

The first day of Eid is expected to begin on Friday in Oman and across the Gulf states. Oman has announced a five-day holiday that starts on Thursday and ends on Monday, while in the UAE it is a four-day break. 

“It clearly shows that Gulf travellers don’t want to travel far in the current situation considering the overwhelming bookings we have had,” Naifeen Al Bahrani, director of travel agency Jumaana Travels, told AGBI.

Oman’s ministry of transport, communication and information technology said that buses from state-run Oman National Transport Company (ONTC) are doubling their daily schedule from the land borders starting from Wednesday to cater for the Eid holiday demand.

Further reading:

• Oman and Saudi Arabia emerge as evacuation hubs in Iran war
• Oman says latest attacks not affecting investment projects
• Oman Air adds war risk and fuel surcharges on cargo

“Since there are limited flights to Oman from the Gulf, the ONTC is increasing its timetable for Eid holiday bookings to make up for cancelled flights,” the ministry said in a statement.

Air space across the region has largely been closed due to the conflict since a joint attack of Israel and the US on Iran started on February 28. 

Airports in Oman have been important evacuation hubs as airlines reroute stranded passengers through alternative Gulf airports.

Oman Air and Salam Air have suspended flights to the Gulf states from March 15 to the end of the month but continue to repatriate stranded passengers to other destinations such as London, India, Rome, Amsterdam, Berlin, Copenhagen and Madrid. 

The sultanate has been the target of a number of Iranian attacks this month. Last week two drones struck an industrial area of Al-Awahi in Sohar, killing two foreign workers and injuring several others. 

A day earlier a Thai-flagged bulk carrier was attacked approximately 13 nautical miles off the coast of Oman and ships in two terminals were evacuated last week following Iranian aerial attacks.

These incidents are part of the ongoing US and Israeli attacks on Iran that have resulted in retaliatory attacks on Gulf state targets.