The (NCSI) is organizing the Consumer Confidence Survey 2019 from 17 to 28 March 2019. According to NCSI officials, the survey is intended to calculate the Index of Consumer Sentiment (ICS), which is a key measure of the state of economy.The survey, which is conducted over telephone using mobile phones, is designed to assess the degree of satisfaction among the citizens with regard to the Sultanate's current economic status as reflected by inflation, employment opportunities, investment climate, economic policies pursued by the government, and the cost of living, among others. It also gauges the extent of public optimism regarding economic development in the short-term (one year). Consumer confidence index is a reflection of the behavior of consumers. An increase in customer spending leads to a rise in demand for various goods and services. This results in increased production and a rise in production facilities to meet that demand, which in turn aids the economic recovery process. On ... Details

Total revenue of Omani hotels in the three-to-five-star category rose by 14.3% to OMR22.7 million till the end of January 2019 compared to OMR19.8 million for the same period of the previous year.However, hotel occupancy rates fell by 2.7% to reach 62.4% at the end of January 2019 against 64.2% for the same period of 2018, according the latest monthly statistics released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI). Meanwhile, the total number of guests in Omani hotels showed a significant increase by 6.9% in the one-month period of 2019, reaching 145,123 from 135,796 guests for the same period of 2018. Among the nationalities, Europeans constituted the maximum number of visitors, reaching 62,167. This was followed by 37,380 Omani guests, 16,006 Asian tourists; and 11,959 visitors from GCC countries till the end of January 2019 period, the data released by NCSI revealed. However, there was a drop in the number of American, Oceanian, and other Arab guests by 13.6%, ... Details