Beaches, deserts, mountains and cool river gorges … Oman has it all

At the VIP roundtable during ITB Berlin 2025, Oman’s Ministry of Heritage and Tourism’s Director General of Tourism Promotion, Haitham Al Ghassani, spoke about the Sultanate’s diverse natural scenery

Thanks to the cooler temperatures in the mountains and refreshing destinations like the shady wadis, Oman can be visited year-round.

Attesting to its 5,000-year history, Oman boasts no less than five UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the restored Bahla Fort and Bat, Al-Khutm and Al-Ain, the most complete collection of necropolises and settlements in the world. Beyond this imposing heritage, the Sultanate also has a unique variety of natural landscapes, something Mr Al Ghassani emphasised during the roundtable event. “We have a desert where visitors can discover the Bedouin lifestyle, and the preserved empty quarter, plus we have a long chain of mountains, the Hajar Mountains, with the highest mountain top, which is Hebal Shams, reaching 3,000 meters above sea level.”

The Director General also highlighted that while temperatures during the summer months can reach 40 degrees in the capital city of Muscat, Oman has no lack of options for cooling down. In addition to the mountains where temperatures tend to be a lot cooler, the Sultanate’s famous wadis, or river gorges, with their crystal clear waters and greenery, offer visitors another option for a refreshing experience.

But no description of Oman would be complete without including its vast coastline. “We are lucky that we are opposite no less than three seas, so that gives us a very long coastline, more than 3,000 kilometers of seaside. This also provides us with the opportunity to promote adventure tourism,” Mr Al Ghassani added.

On the topic of adventure, one of the segments Oman was spotlighting at ITB Berlin 2025, the Sultanate has no shortage of activities for active travellers. From hiking and climbing to diving, snorkeling, and kitesurfing, “there are many ways to explore Oman,” said Mr Al Ghassani.

New hotel openings are adding to Oman’s appeal. In Muscat, for example, the St Regis welcomed its first guests just last year. And apart from hotels, Mr Al Ghassani spoke about Oman’s traditional guest houses. “These guest houses are very unique. Some are hanging on a cliff in remote areas or in really old villages and offer traditional stays that combine authenticity with comfort.” These are often 300-year-old houses built using traditional techniques and materials to lower the temperature inside, and generally they have been lovingly restored.

The Director General claimed that the average stay for visitors to Oman is seven days. However, he stressed that that amount of time is not enough to experience the whole country. “If you want to try and experience everything, you need more time,” he pointed out. Many travellers focus their visit on the north and the destinations that can be easily reached from Muscat, like the desert, which is just a two-hour drive from there. But other destinations, such as Salalah in the south, have a lot to offer. “Salalah is totally different from Muscat. Salalah is a destination you can easily visit during the summer and the winter,” Al Ghassani affirmed. “It has beautiful beaches, nature, and heritage. It really is a destination that has it all.”