Muscat – Festivals and exhibitions in Oman drew 8.313mn visitors in 2025, more than double the previous year, highlighting a sharp rise in public interest in the country’s cultural and heritage offerings, according to new official data.

The number of visitors surged 110% despite the number of festivals and exhibitions edging down 0.2% to 358, the Culture Statistics 2025 Data bulletin issued by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) showed.

The bulletin provides a snapshot of Oman’s cultural landscape, covering museums, heritage sites, performing arts, handicrafts, publishing, libraries, cinema and other cultural activities.

Oman had 34 museums in 2025, comprising 12 government and 22 private museums. They received 538,729 visitors, a 28% decline from the previous year. The Oman Across Ages Museum accounted for 46% of total museum visits.

The country recorded 33,775 archaeological and historical sites and landmarks, of which 441 had been restored.

Tourist-oriented forts and castles proved more popular. Oman had 64 such sites, which attracted 849,146 visitors, a 26% increase from 2024. Nizwa Fort accounted for 35% of visits.

Oman has 33 nature reserves covering 17,835sqkm, including 15 terrestrial and marine reserves. The reserves received 185,411 visitors.

The number of parks, public gardens and squares reached 497, with Muscat accounting for 28%.

Performing arts and crafts

Oman had 27 theatres in 2025, staging 160 performances, while 82 theatre groups were active across the country.

Fine arts activity also expanded, with 749 paintings and drawings exhibited during the year, up 5% from 2024. A total of 621 artists participated, while exhibitions attracted 6,777 visitors.

The handicrafts sector had 7,134 artisans, including 6,748 women. Dhofar accounted for 29% of the total.

Incense production and processing was the largest craft activity, involving 3,532 artisans, or nearly half of all registered artisans.

Publishing also recorded growth. Oman produced 1,718 books in 2025, up from 1,327 the previous year. The number of newspapers rose to 24 from 22, while magazines increased to 30 from 29.

The country had 97 libraries, including 74 community libraries.

Heritage preservation

Oman restored 49,558 documents and manuscripts during 2025, compared with 34,388 in 2024. 

The country had five government and private television channels and 15 radio channels.

Cinema activity remained significant, with 17 cinemas screening 40,048 films and recording 1.759mn admissions during the year.

Religious and tourism infrastructure

The bulletin recorded 15,910 mosques, grand mosques and Eid prayer grounds, down 6.6% from 2024. These included 13,106 mosques, 1,927 grand mosques and 877 Eid prayer grounds.

There were 913 Quran schools with 70,478 students. Women and girls accounted for 88% of enrolment, while women represented 99% of the 1,221 teachers.

Oman had 1,475 hotels, hotel apartments, furnished apartments and other accommodation facilities, up from 1,031 in 2024. Guest numbers increased 1.2% during the year, while 602 winter camps were recorded nationwide.