Geological Sites as a Safe Resort for Post-COVID-19 Tourism: The Case of Al Jabal Al Akhdar, Oman
Abstract
COVID-19 is undoubtedly an unprecedented crisis that hits tourism heavily. To date, it is unconfirmed when tourism businesses can reopen again. However, official and unofficial tourism entities proclaim that tourism should resume as soon to save the massive investments and the millions of jobs in this sector. It is also agreed that Post-COVID-19 tourism will significantly differ from the Pre-COVID-19 era, where both tourists’ characteristics and tourist product features will witness major changes. In this context, this research suggests geo-tourism as a potential safe resort for the Omani tourism business, assuming that the features of this type of tourism will meet the requirements of Post-COVID-19 tourism. The research investigates Al Jabal Al Akhdar as a model case for this assumption.
References
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[2] Al Marshudy, A. 1995. Traditional agriculture and fishing in the Sultanate of Oman. Muscat: College of Agriculture, Sultan Qaboos University.
[3] Coutinho, A., Urano, D., Mate, A. J., Nascimento, M. 2019. Tourism and geotourism: a conceptual problem. Rosa dos Ventos – Turismo e Hospitalidade 11(4): 754-772. DOI: 10.18226/21789061.v11i4p754
[4] Denscombe, M. 1998. The Good research guide: for small-scale social research projects. Buckingham: Open University Press.
[5] Doss, P. 2008. Integrated geological resources management for public lands: A template from Yellowstone National Park. Gas Today 2008, (October): 30 – 37. DOI: 10.1130/GSATG23A.1
[6] Eder, W., Patzak, M. 2004. Geoparks-geological attractions: A tool for public education, recreation, and sustainable economic development. Episodes, 27(3): 162–164. DOI: 10.18814/epiiugs/2004/v27i3/001
[7] Ergasheva, Z. 2010. Geological tourism organization established in Tajikistan. Asia-Plus, July 15. Available at: https://tinyurl.com/ybws7qqe
[8] Farsani, N., Coelho, C., Costa, C. 2010. Geo-tourism and geoparks as novel strategies for socio-economic development in rural areas. International Journal of Tourism Research, 13: 68–81. DOI: 10.1002/jtr.800
[9] Finnegan, R. 1996. Using documents. In Data collection and analysis, edited by Roger Sapsford and Victor Jupp, 16 – 29. London: SAGE Publications Ltd. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781849208802
[10] Hall, M., Weiler, B. 1992. “Introduction.” In What’s special about special interest tourism? Edited by Betty Weiler, and Hall, Michael, 1 – 13. Bellhaven Press.
[11] Heggie, T. 2009. “Geo-tourism and volcanoes: health hazards facing tourists at volcanic and geothermal destinations.” Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease 7(5): 257–261. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmaid.2009.06.002
[12] Higham, J., Odd Vistad. 2011. “Tourism in Protected Natural Areas: The Nordic-Baltic Context.” Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism 11(1): 1-12. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1080/15022250.2011.638208
[13] Hoffmann, G., Meschede, M., Zacke, A., Al Kindi, M. 2016. Field Guide to the Geology of Northeastern Oman. Stuttgart: Schweizerbart.
[14] Hose, T. 2007. Geo-tourism in Almeria province, southeast Spain. Preliminary communication 55(3): 259-276. Available at: https://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?id_clanak_jezik=38817&show=clanak
[15] Johnson, C., Sheth, H., Ollier, C. Geological attractions for tourists in Mauritius. In Global Geo-tourism Perspectives, edited by David Newsome and Ross Dowling, 169–173. UK: Goodfellow Publications, 2010.
[16] Punch, K. 1998. Introduction to social research: Quantitative and qualitative approaches. London: SAGE Publications Ltd.
[17] Brent, R., Jiang, Y. 2019. A review of research on tourism risk, crisis, and disaster management: Launching the annals of tourism research curated collection on tourism risk, crisis, and disaster management. Annals of Tourism Research, 79(1): 1 – 15. DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2019.102812
[18] Robertson, A., Searle, M., Ries. A.1990. The geology and tectonics of the Oman region. The Geological Society, 49: 3 – 26.
[19] Robinson, A. 2008. Geotourism: Who is the Geotourist? Inaugural National Conference on Green Travel, Climate Change, and Ecotourism, 16 – 20 November 2008, Adelaide, Australia. Available at: https://sustain.pata.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Geotourism.pdf
[20] Searle, M. 2014. “Preserving Oman's geological heritage: proposal for establishment of World Heritage Sites, national geoparks, and sites of special scientific interest.” Geological Society, 392, no. 1: 9-44. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1144/SP392.2
[21] Sheth, H., Johnson, C.P., Ollier, C. 2010. The seven-colored earth of Chamarel, Mauritius. Journal of African Earth Sciences )57(1–2: 169-173. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2009.07.009
[22] Sigurdsson, H., and Lopes-Gautier, R. 2000. Volcanoes and tourism. In Encyclopaedia of Volcanoes, edited by Sigurdsson, Haraldur et al., 1283–1299. New York: Academic Press
[23] Alroya. 226.4 thousand visitors to Al Jabal Al Akhdar in 2018. Al Roya, January 28, 2019. Retrieved from https://alroya.om/p/231250
[24] Al Hoota. 2020. Welcome to Al Hoota Cave. Nizwa: Al Hoota Cave. Retrieved from http://www.alhootacave.om/
[25] Gulf News. Oman’s ‘Green Mountain’ declared a nature reserve. Gulf News, August 18, 2011. Available at: https://tinyurl.com/y9ejff44
[26] Gulf News. 13,000 doctors needed in Oman by 2040. Gulf News, April 12, 2018. Available at: https://tinyurl.com/yah3mdtz
[27] International Labor Organization. 2020. The impact of COVID-19 on the tourism sector. Geneva: International Labor Organization. Available at: https://tinyurl.com/y9v6luhu
[28] Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs. 2014. 5th National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), 2014. Muscat: Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs.
[29] Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs. 2020. Protected areas in Oman. Muscat: Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs. Available at: https://meca.gov.om/en/
[30] Ministry of Tourism. 2011. Omani Ministry of Tourism: Our Mission. Muscat: Ministry of Tourism. Available at: http://www.omantourism.gov.om
[31] Ministry of Tourism. 2016. Oman Tourism Strategy (Document no. 309, 2nd version). Muscat: Ministry of Tourism.
[32] Ministry of Tourism. 2019. Tourism sector’s contribution to GDP by 2.9% in 2018. Muscat: Ministry of Tourism. Available at: https://tinyurl.com/y856tt4v
[33] Ministry of Tourism. 2020. Welcome to Oman tourism portal. Muscat: Ministry of Tourism. Available at: https://tinyurl.com/y8v3zm86
[34] National Centre for Statistics & Information. 2015. The reality of the Omani tourism: Information and statistics. Muscat: National Centre for Statistics & Information.
[35] National Park Services. 2020. Death Valley Hosted Record 1,678,660 Visitors in 2018. National Park Services. Available at: https://tinyurl.com/y7lcolyq
[36] National Park Services. 2020. Visitation to Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park creates $94.1 million in economic benefits. National Park Services. Available at: https://tinyurl.com/ybxleldx
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[44] SQU & MoT. 2011. Social and economic dimensions for tourism development in Wilayat Al Jabal Al Akhdar. Muscat: Sultan Qaboos University & Ministry of Tourism.
[45] Statista. 2020. The number of recreational visitors to the Grand Canyon National Park in the United States from 2008 to 2019. Statista. Available at: https://tinyurl.com/y7v9pu64
[46] Tanfeedh. 2020. The National Program for Enhancing Economic Diversification. Muscat: Tanfeedh. Available at: https://tinyurl.com/ybha5zfk
[47] The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation. 2020. World Heritage List. Paris: The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation. Available at: https://tinyurl.com/ycz7bnpg
[48] Tourism Research Australia. 2007. International and national visitor surveys. Sydney: Tourism Research Australia
[49] Travel Daily News. “Oman welcomed over 3.5 million visitors in 2019”. Travel Daily News, June 30, 2020. Available at: https://tinyurl.com/ya9ar5b8
[50] Travel Industry Association of America. 2003. Geo-tourism: The new trend in travel. Washington: Travel Industry Association of America. Available at: https://tinyurl.com/y8ku7nny
[51] United Nations World Tourism Organization. 2020. 100% of global destinations now have COVID-19 travel restrictions. Madrid: United Nations World Tourism Organization. Available at: https://www.unwto.org/news/covid-19-travel-restrictions
[52] United Nations World Tourism Organization. 2020. Impact assessment of the COVID-19 outbreak on international tourism. Madrid: United Nations World Tourism Organization. Available at: https://www.unwto.org/impact-assessment-of-the-covid-19-outbreak-on-international-tourism
[53] United Nations World Tourism Organization. 2020. New data shows impact of COVID-19 on tourism as UNWTO calls for responsible restart of the sector. Madrid: United Nations World Tourism Organization. Available at: https://www.unwto.org/taxonomy/term/347
[54] Uusitalo, M. 2017. How to maintain naturalness in nature-based tourism resorts? Approaches to assessments of landscape quality for tourism planning. University of Lapland, Finland. Available at: https://lauda.ulapland.fi/handle/10024/62842
[55] World Bank. 2020. Hospital beds (per 1,000 people). Washington: World Bank. Available at: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.MED.BEDS.ZS
[56] World Health Organization. 2020. Timeline of WHO’s response to COVID-19. Geneva: World Health Organization. Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/29-06-2020-covidtimeline
[57] World Tourism and Travel Council. 2014. Travel & Tourism Economic Impact, 2014. London: World Tourism and Travel Council.
[58] World Tourism and Travel Council. 2020. Oman 2020 annual research: key highlights. London: World Tourism and Travel Council.
Published
2020-09-13
How to Cite
AFIFI, Galal M. H.; NEGM, Maged. M. F..
Geological Sites as a Safe Resort for Post-COVID-19 Tourism: The Case of Al Jabal Al Akhdar, Oman.
Journal of Environmental Management and Tourism, [S.l.], v. 11, n. 6, p. 1520 - 1336, sep. 2020.
ISSN 2068-7729.
Available at: <https://journals.aserspublishing.eu/jemt/article/view/5540>. Date accessed: 25 apr. 2024.
doi: https://doi.org/10.14505/jemt.v11.6(46).23.
Section
Article
Copyright© 2023 The Author(s). Published by ASERS Publishing 2023. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of CC-BY 4.0 license.