Muscat: Oman has ranked second among Arab countries in the Sustainable Tourism Index in the World in 2020, issued by the Euro Monitor International Research Foundation.
The Sultanate ranked 57th in the global list, with Sweden topping the list followed by Finland, Austria and Estonia. The Sultanate came second in the Arab world after Jordan, while the UAE ranked third, and Tunisia ranked fourth.
These findings developed by Euromonitor International for their new Sustainable Travel Index, assesses 99 country destinations on the basis of their environmental, social and economic sustainability, country risk as well as sustainable tourism demand, transport and lodging.
Clear flaws
The foundation has said in its report that the current global situation brought by the coronavirus pandemic, has highlighted clear flaws in traditional mass tourism models that have no place in the new pandemic situation. The report states that a new travel sustainability index is emerging, where the concerned stakeholders are rallying together to ‘build back better’ through value creation from sustainable tourism.
Caroline Bremner, head of travel at Euromonitor International was quoted as saying that as momentum grows in the run up to COP26 (UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties), consumers, travel brands, destination marketing organisations and governments continue to align to avert climate emergency.
Oman is known for its resorts and hotels built on nature’s embankment, be it mountains, forests areas or sea-side resorts, with employment opportunities given to trained locals primarily. The socio-cultural fabric of the country is also preserved through mandating the need to respect the local customs and habits.
