Socio-cultural impacts of large-scale cruise tourism in Souq Mutrah, Sultanate of Oman

Do residents differentiate between the impacts of tourism, cruise tourism, and Airbnb tourism?

“…Finally, with the notable exception of peace and quiet, enough good jobs for residents, and fair prices for goods and services, all other tourism impacts were perceived to be least positive in association with cruise tourism. This finding supports previous literature, which has found cruise tourism to be one of the worst types of tourism when it comes to the benefit of residents of cruise host communities (Del Chiappa & Abbate, 2016;Gutberlet, 2016;Jordan & Vogt, 2017). This is not to say that cruise tourism was perceived overall in a negative light by residentsactually to the contrary.…”

“…Cultural pride and awareness skews toward the negative, as cruise tourism has often been viewed in the literature as exploitative of local culture. For instance, Gutberlet (2016) found that cruise tourism resulted in a loss of cultural identity for residents of Muscat, Oman. Furthermore, natural and cultural preservation has received a great deal of attention in relation to cruise tourism, and the majority of studies have determined that it is detrimental, particularly to the natural environment.…”

Staging the Oriental Other: Imaginaries and performances of German-speaking cruise tourists

“…These luxury cruise liners offer longer itineraries involving different continents, sometimes even around the world, providing authentic and special experiences. In contrast, contemporary cruise tourists like Costa and AIDA spend less money for a trip and have a lower spending behaviour on shore (Gutberlet, 2016a) as well as have less awareness of local values and cultures (Gutberlet, 2016b). Contemporary cruise ships are selling standardized floating resorts, 'holiday at sea packages'.…”

“…Around US$26 million was invested in ports in Oman (p. 60). With the arrival of the first mega-liner AIDAblu in 2004 (Gutberlet, 2016a), Oman became easily accessible for mass tourists, especially from Germany. These tourists had previously travelled with AIDA to established destinations such as the Mediterranean or the Caribbean.…”

“…However, the ascension of Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said to the throne in 1970 and the exploration of oil and gas resulted in major investments in urban development and the diversification of the economy. With the introduction of supermarkets, the souq lost its role as a local market and trading hub (Gutberlet, 2016a). As a consequence, the souq has slowly become a tourist attraction and has been promoted as an iconic site.…”