issued by Oman's foreign mission within one week of application, and were also allowed to enter the country by road (EIU, 1995; MEED, 16 June 2000).Despite the minimal attention given by the Omani authorities to the tourism industry until the early 1990s, during the years 1985-93 the Omani tourism industry expanded by an impressive rate of 12.5% on annual average (WTO, 1994).It should be emphasized, however, that this change in visa regulations was not a by-product of other governmental aims (as had happened in the past), but was aimed specifically at encouraging non-GCC tourism.