Sitting along the southeastern coast of the Arab Peninsula and sharing borders with the UAE, Yemen and Saudi Arabia, the Middle Eastern nation of Oman offers natural wonders like the bright turquoise valleys and river gorges known as wadis, the Hajar and Dhofar mountain ranges and a 12,500-square-kilometer desert region known as Sharqiya Sands.
But with the regional dominance of Dubai, Oman is often overlooked as a travel destination. The instability in the Middle East set off by the U.S.-Israeli strike on Iran earlier this year has also significantly driven down tourism.
As part of an effort to grow its tourism industry and encourage international travelers, the Omani government just scrapped its former requirement for an e-visa for travelers from more than 100 countries.
Oman grants visitors of more than 100 countries 14 days of visa-free travel
The visa-free period for tourism-related visits has been set at 14 days and is granted to citizens of countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and the countries that are part of the European Union.
While those seeking to stay longer or enter for purposes other than tourism or family visits will need to apply for a regular embassy visa as before, anyone from the first group of approved countries is now able to simply buy a ticket to Oman and show up at the airport so long as they have a passport that will remain valid for at least six months at the time of entry.
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The second group of countries for which the Omani government is easing entry requirements includes Algeria, Morocco, Guatemala and Mexico among others; citizens of these countries can also benefit from visa-free entry to Oman if they already hold a valid visa from countries including the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan or one of the European Union countries.
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What else the changed entry rules mean for your Oman travel
Citizens of the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which are part of the Gulf Cooperation Council alliance alongside Oman, do not require a visa to enter the country.
“In line with national efforts to promote and ease services for tourists visiting Oman, visitors from more than 100 countries and regions are exempt from entry visas for stays up to 14 days,” the Foreign Ministry of Oman wrote of the changes.
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According to government statistics, 1.8 million international tourists came to Oman in the first half of 2026 leading up to June. The largest number, 491,503 visitors, came from neighboring UAE while India was another major source of international tourism at 382,015 arrivals.
Germany, Yemen and China were the other countries to land in the top five but tourism numbers in general have taken a hit of 9% since the start of the war in Iran.
A report from the World Travel & Tourism Council estimated that the Middle Eastern tourism sector has been losing nearly $600 million USD a day as a result of flight cancelations, airspace closures and wider uncertainty around the war and potential retaliatory attacks from Iran.
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