About the opportunities and challenges of sustainable tourism and Oman
This article is part of the “Sustainable tourism insights” interview series with speakers and participants of the Green Destinations Conference in Athens, Greece held in September 2022.
Amina Al Balushi is the Advisor to the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism in Oman. Anula Galewska, Travindy’s Managing Director, asked Amina about the opportunities and challenges of sustainable tourism in Oman and her research that topic.
According to Amina Al Balushi, sustainable tourism in Oman is successfully developing. The new products are created with care for the environment, the local community, cultural values, and traditions. For example, several management plans for natural-based tourism attractions were developed to limit and manage tourist flows and their activities. The Ministry of Heritage and Tourism also focused on raising awareness among the community on how local people can engage with tourism and benefit from it.
In addition, Amina briefly describes her recent research about two tourism destinations in Oman. The first case is a desert tourist attraction where she highlighted economic benefits for the local community from tourism development in the area and cultural proservation aspects. The other case study focused on the economic and environmental aspects of sustainable tourism development as well as recommendations on how to improve these destinations, how to maintain sustainability and apply this to any destination in Oman or any other country.
Watch the interview with Amina Al Balushi:
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