New Oman Tourism Law comes into force

Muscat: An updated executive regulation for the Omani Tourism Law, which has been approved by Ahmed bin Nasser Al Mahrzi, Minister of Tourism comes into force starting from Thursday.
The Regulation will be implemented in different tourism organisations, establishment and offices.
The approval of the updated executive regulation coincides with the plans and programmes associated with Oman Tourism Strategy 2040. The Minister of Tourism has earlier given instruction to form a committee to amend the old executive regulation for the tourism law, which has been issued in 2003 ; even before the establishment of the Ministry of Tourism.
The amendments come in a bid to keep pace with the changes witnessed by the Omani tourism sector by providing frameworks and standards that regularise the tourism activities, products and services. The updated executive regulation aims at facilitating procedures and principles to develop encouraging strategies for SMEs, direct foreign investment at the Omani tourism sector together with the suitable penalties that ensure balance at the market.
It should be noted that the Ministry of Tourism his issued a circular to all Omani tourism organisations, establishments and offices to settle their conditions as per the updated executive regulation for the Tourism Law 39/2016 on June 9th 2016 within six months from the date this regulation comes in to force (from September 1st 2016 to the end of February 2017).
The circular has been published on the Ministry’s website www.omantourism.gov.om.
Establishment that will not abide by the laws and regulations will be subject to legal action against them.