313
Hotels
That puts Rustaq at 1 of 11 on the official table.
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Rustaq · Topic file
Does Rustaq have a real place economy, or just rooms on paper?
A lot of governorates are sold on heritage, climate, scenery or access. The numbers have to back up the story — empty rooms are not a visitor economy. For Rustaq, the honest read comes down to hotels and hotel occupancy rate.
49.8%
Hotel occupancy rate
That puts Rustaq at 2 of 11 on the official table.
The numbers
Where Rustaq stands today, chart by chart
Hotels
Number of hotels by governorate in 2025.
NCSI Statistical Year Book 2026, Table 2-21.
Hotel occupancy rate
Hotel occupancy rate by governorate in 2025.
NCSI Statistical Year Book 2026, Table 9-21.
The trend over time
How Rustaq got here
Hotels
How quickly the hotel base is growing — useful for spotting where the tourism story is real on the ground, and where it is still mostly a brochure.
2022–2024: Table 2-21, Statistical Year Book 2025 (Issue 53). 2025: Table 2-21, Statistical Year Book 2026 (Issue 54).
Hotel occupancy rate
How full the hotels actually are. Capacity is easy to build; this is the line that tells you whether visitors are turning up.
2022–2024: Table 9-21, Statistical Year Book 2025 (Issue 53). 2025: Table 9-21, Statistical Year Book 2026 (Issue 54).
Reading the charts
What the latest tables are really saying
- Rustaq is showing 313 on hotels. That puts Rustaq at 1 of 11 on the official table.
- Rustaq is showing 49.8% on hotel occupancy rate. That puts Rustaq at 2 of 11 on the official table.
- The MOHUP strategy is explicit about balance: coastal and inland growth, stronger regional hubs around Rustaq and Barka, Khazaen as a logistics and jobs platform, and a heritage corridor that ties tourism to inland settlements. Visitor numbers, service quality and the feel of the place are part of the real test here, not just the branding.
Why this file matters
The strategy Rustaq is being measured against
Hotels, occupancy, and whether the place is becoming a real destination or just adding rooms.
The MOHUP strategy is explicit about balance: coastal and inland growth, stronger regional hubs around Rustaq and Barka, Khazaen as a logistics and jobs platform, and a heritage corridor that ties tourism to inland settlements.
- Growth is supposed to be shared between the coastal belt and the inland settlements near the Hajar Mountains.
- Khazaen is framed as a significant employment location because of its links to Muscat and Sohar.
- Tourism is tied to heritage corridors and adaptive reuse rather than only to resort-style coastal development.
Related topic files
Five more ways into the Al Batinah South execution map
These linked files cover the other live tests in the same governorate, so the numbers on capital, jobs, services, tourism, utilities, and urban buildout can be read together instead of in isolation.
Al Batinah South topic file
Capital deployment
How much money is actually being committed, and whether the property market is picking up the signal.
Al Batinah South topic file
Urban buildout and housing
Population, permits and whether the place is actually being built fast enough for the role it has been handed.
Al Batinah South topic file
Jobs and enterprise
The jobs and businesses that show whether the governorate has a working economy, or just a project list.
Al Batinah South topic file
Human capability and essential services
Whether schools and hospitals are keeping up — the simplest read on whether people can build a life here.
Al Batinah South topic file
Infrastructure and utilities
Roads, water and the quiet base layer that usually decides whether any of the rest of it actually works.