Tourism ministry looks to speed up Omanisation in 4-5 star hotels

Published 13 Jan,2021 via Muscat Daily - The Ministry of Heritage and Tourism is pushing for Omanisation in four- and five-star hotel establishments in the sultanate.

The Ministry of Heritage and Tourism, in cooperation with the Ministry of Labour, held a joint meeting on the matter on Wednesday with representatives of four-and five-star hotel establishments. The meeting was held in the presence of H E Maitha Saif Majid al Mahrouqi, Undersecretary for Tourism in the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism, and H E Sheikh Nasr bin Amer al Hosni, Undersecretary in the Ministry of Labour.

H E Maitha said, “The meeting discussed providing job opportunities in the hotel sector in the sultanate for Omani job seekers, and discussed the challenges facing hotels with four- and five-star ratings to localise jobs for nationals.”

She confirmed that coordination has been done with the sector institutions to start localising jobs for Omanis.

“Further, inquiries and work mechanisms were heard from hotel representatives, and the challenges facing the sector were discussed.”

H E Maitha added, “The workforce in the tourism sector, especially in hotels, have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, but at a lower level compared to other sectors. We hope that the recovery plan will be activated. There is no doubt that the continued granting of incentive packages by the government to the private sector will contribute to creating employment opportunities in the sector.”

She added that during the meeting it was decided to form a joint working group between the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism, the Ministry of Labour and sector partners to develop a plan to employ Omanis in the hotel sector, and to discuss the needs for training in the sector.

H E Sheikh Hosni stated, “The meeting aimed to find out the challenges facing workers in the sector, find long-term solutions to these challenges, and Omanise jobs in this sector.”

According to the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism’s statistics, the number of Omanis working in the tourism sector in the sultanate was 15,704 in various tourism activities until November of 2020.

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