(MENAFN - Muscat Daily) Oman's thrust on developing the travel and tourism sector has begun to show positive effects on the economy. The sultanate has shown impressive overall progress according to the World Travel & Tourism Council's (WTTC) 2015 Travel & Tourism Economic Impact Report.

The report puts Oman higher than other GCC countries in most categories and says that the direct contribution from travel and tourism to the sultanate's employment is expected to show a real growth of 11 per cent this year the second highest of the 184 countries covered by WTTC.

The sector's contribution to GDP and in generating jobs

has been significant and forecasts see it only rising. This means that the strategy to use tourism to veer the economy away from oil-dependent revenue is on the right track. Travel and tourism's direct contribution to Oman's GDP in 2014 was RO765.1mn (2.6 per cent of the total GDP).

The report has forecast that this will rise by 5.2 per cent this year and to RO1.453bn (3.3 per cent of total GDP) in 2025.

The sector directly supported 44500 jobs (2.8 per cent of total employment) in 2014. This

includes employment by hotels travel agents airlines and other passenger transportation services (excluding commuter services). It also include the activities of the restaurant and leisure industries directly supported by tourists.

This figure has been forecast to grow by 11 per cent this year to 49500 (2.9 per cent of total employment).

By 2025 the sector will account for 72000 jobs directly an increase of 3.8 per cent annually over the next ten years the report states.

Oman is attracting good investment in the field. The last year saw RO267mn being invested (3.6 per cent of total investment).

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Oman to see 11% job growth from tourism