Tourism Breaking News
Oman’s tourism activity offerings highlight the country’s strongest assets: a rich local cultural heritage and an extraordinary variety of landscapes, as shown by an analysis carried out by Mabrian, the global travel intelligence and tourism advisory partner. The study indicates that cultural experiences remain a central pillar of the offer, yet nature and active lifestyle activities together now surpass culture as the main source of discovery and enjoyment for travellers exploring the Sultanate. Mabrian, part of The Data Appeal Company – Almawave Group, examined supply and demand trends for experiences marketed through major online activity platforms across Oman’s 8 regions, using data from August and September 2025.
“Our data intelligence shows clear opportunities to broaden Oman’s tourism offer around experiences beyond its cultural core, a particular yet relevant element of its tourism value proposition. Strengthening nature and active experiences in underrepresented regions, and making more family-oriented products available online, can help the country reach new segments and extend visitor stays,” says Sonia Huerta, Director of Insights & Tourism Advisory at Mabrian, and supervisor for this in-depth analysis.
Mabrian’s data reveals that 37% of all activities and experiences available in Oman are concentrated in cultural tourism, linked to local heritage and monuments. This is followed by nature (28%) and active tourism (17%), which combined account for 45% of total activities offerings in the Sultanate. In terms of sub-products, the top three categories are local heritage, natural landscapes, and active tourism by the sea.
Family-oriented activities still hold a limited share of the total portfolio, suggesting an opportunity to expand and reinforce segmented offerings specialised in this segment ,or better highlight existing options suitable for families with children of different ages.
In terms of how the offerings are distributed across Oman, data indicates a strong concentration Muscat and Ad Dakhliyah, which together account for more than half of the country’s total activities & experiences offer. Muscat alone represents 37% of all activities, reflecting its role as the capital, main entry point, and cultural hub. Ad Dakhliyah plans and activities (16%) complements Muscat, with its impressive forts, canyon-like landscapes, and traditional villages, offering a rich contrast to the urban environment.
In the south, Dhofar (14%) shows significant potential to expand its online tourism offering. Its portfolio focuses on nature and sunbathing experiences, leveraging its coastal location and the appeal of the Khareef season. Musandam stands out for its gastronomic identity, driven by traditional seafood cuisine and cross-cultural influences from nearby Gulf countries; in fact, cultural activities are less prominent in this region, while food-related experiences are proportionally higher.
Moreover, “our analysis also unveils an organic segmentation of the activities offerings, based on the particularities of each region, which is very promising in terms of promoting very customised itineraries, and also boosting travellers’ satisfaction with Oman experience”, explains Mabrian’s specialist. This analysis also explores demand behaviour around activities and experiences in both the international and domestic markets, showing that foreign travellers are at the core of activities demand in the Sultanate. German visitors stand out as the leading source market, followed at a distance by France, Italy, and the United Kingdom. Domestic tourism demand of activities and experiences remain limited, likely due to lower use of online platforms to hire this kind of services among local travellers.
Diving deep in the top three European Markets (Germany, France, and Italy) reveals a shared interest in cultural, nature-based, and active experiences, but with distinctive preferences. Germans favor experiences involving nature (34%), reflecting their strong interest in outdoor and environmentally focused travel. Italians prioritize cultural experiences (31%), with gastronomy also playing a notable role in their travel behavior; whereas French visitors show the most balanced distribution of interests across activity categories.
Considering traveller profile perspective, Mabrian identifies couples (39%) and solo travellers (25%) as the main demand segments for activities available in online platforms, while groups and families account for 18%, respectively. As Mabrian expert explains, “this highlights Oman’s reputation as a secure and welcoming destination, particularly for women”.
