Agricultural Sustainability through Agritourism in Oman and Potentials for Adoption

Abstract

Most Middle Eastern countries are geographically located in arid or semi-arid climatic conditions. Agricultural practices have not been impressive in achieving sustainability in these countries. With the changing geopolitical undercurrents, these countries with the GCC countries as part of the Middle East are facing fluctuating economies as the oil price has become fragile and unstable. Oman's economy is heavily depending on hydrocarbons, and looking at other contribution sectors is necessary. The contribution from the agricultural sector is comparatively insignificant, but it explicitly diversified arid cropping systems and unique to the country. The agricultural production activities are often done with unique cultural practices, and this sector can be attractive to tourists. The tourism industry is considered a potential sector for boosting the economy that is aligned with Oman Vision 2040 strategy. This paper aims to investigate the potential of agritourism in different regions in Oman for adoption as a new venture. Different agricultural sites and products for promoting agritourism are selected for the study. The farm characteristic and activities at different agricultural sites are identified. The prediction number of agritourists and the farm income are calculated. The results of this study show that the selected agricultural sites in this study indicated highly potential for agritourism. Salalah is the best agritourism destination with predicated annual agritourists 188,000 and US$5 m of farm income. Agritourism would assist in achieving agricultural sustainability through product value-addition, which would open access to global markets and improve the livelihood of farmers