How to Start a Travel Agency in Oman: Licence, Documents and Fees

Starting a travel agency in Oman requires two separate checks: registering the business commercially and obtaining the appropriate tourism licence. The Ministry of Heritage and Tourism provides a dedicated licence service for travel and tourism agencies, while tourist guides and certain specialist tourism activities have separate licensing routes. The correct process depends on what your business will actually provide, not simply the company name you register.

For investors planning a travel office, tour business or tourism services company, the first practical task is to define the intended activities. The government announced a fee of OMR 57 for issuing a travel and tourism agency licence in February 2025, but another published government fee schedule lists OMR 150 for certain agency-licensing items. Confirm the applicable amount through the current official service before budgeting or paying.

At a glance

• The Ministry of Heritage and Tourism is the authority responsible for the travel and tourism agency licence.
• Commercial registration and the specialist tourism licence are separate matters.
• The published agency application requirements include proof of ownership or a lease for the business premises.
• An employment plan form must be completed and uploaded as described in the official service announcement.
• The February 2025 government announcement states an OMR 57 issuance fee for the specified agency service; this is not the total cost of establishing a company.
• Tour guides and some specialist tourism operators follow separate licensing procedures.

What licence does a tourism business need in Oman?

The licence depends on the service being offered. A travel agency, a professional tourist guide and an operator organising a specialist activity should not automatically be treated as the same type of business.

The government's travel and tourism agency licence service provides a dedicated route for agency licensing. The Ministry of Heritage and Tourism also lists applications for new agency licences, renewals, amendments and cancellations through its travel and tourism licensing services.

Travel agency or tourism office

If your business will operate as a travel agency or travel and tourism office, begin with the ministry's agency-licensing service. Check the exact commercial activity you intend to register and compare it with the services you plan to sell.

Do not assume that an agency licence automatically covers every additional service. If the business will also provide tourist transportation, adventure trips or professional guiding, verify the separate licensing route for each relevant activity before launching it.

Tour operator and specialist activities

A company organising tours should define the scope of its operations before completing registration. The Ministry of Heritage and Tourism provides a separate service for an adventure tourism trip organiser licence, and the government also lists a dedicated tourism transportation licence.

These services demonstrate why one general tourism licence should not be assumed to cover every business model. The applicable requirements must be checked against the actual activity and the relevant service.

Tour guide services

Professional tourist guiding follows a separate licensing process. The ministry offers licences for general, specialist and regional guiding categories, along with services to renew, amend, transfer or cancel a guide licence.

If your business will employ guides or provide guiding services, review the requirements for the relevant professional licence. An agency licence should not be treated as a substitute for a guide's own authorisation.

Which authority issues the licence?

The Ministry of Heritage and Tourism is the relevant authority for travel and tourism agency licensing and professional tourist-guide licensing. Its electronic services provide the application routes for these activities.

For an agency, start with the official government licensing page. For professional guiding, use the ministry's electronic services portal to identify the applicable category and requirements.

Commercial registration is a separate part of setting up the business. The registered activities should reflect the services the company intends to provide, while any tourism-specific authorisation must be checked independently. A registered company name alone does not establish that every planned service is licensed.

How to establish a travel agency in Oman

Start by defining the business model, then align the commercial registration with the intended activities and prepare the documents required for the agency licence. The exact sequence of additional approvals depends on the services involved.

1. Define the services. Decide whether the business will operate as a travel agency, organise tours, provide tourist guiding or offer specialist services. List distinct activities separately rather than assuming one licence covers them all.
2. Check the commercial activity. Identify the appropriate business activity for registration and compare it with the actual services you intend to sell. Resolve uncertainty about tourism licensing before finalising the activity selection.
3. Complete the commercial registration process. Establish the business through the relevant company-registration process. Keep the registration stage distinct from the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism's specialist licensing process.
4. Prepare premises documentation. The official agency-service announcement identifies a property ownership certificate, known locally as a Mulkiya, or a lease contract for the premises to be used.
5. Complete the employment plan form. The government announcement instructs applicants to download the form from the service details page, complete it and upload it with the application.
6. Check conditional documentation. If the applicant is registered with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority, the announcement specifies a copy of the entrepreneurship card. Confirm any additional fields or documents requested by the current application system.
7. Submit the licence application. Use the official electronic service for travel and tourism agency licensing. Review the application for completeness and verify the displayed fee before making payment.
8. Confirm additional permissions. If the business will organise adventure trips, provide tourist transportation or employ professional guides, check the relevant separate licence before offering those services.

Documents and requirements

The official announcement identifies several documents for the travel and tourism agency application. This published list should be used as a starting point, while the live application remains the place to confirm the requirements that apply to the specific applicant.

• Property ownership certificate or lease contract: Evidence relating to the premises intended for the agency.
• Entrepreneurship card, where applicable: A copy is specified if the applicant is registered with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority.
• Employment plan form: Download, complete and upload the form as instructed on the service details page.
• Application information and any additional requested documents: Complete the mandatory fields and provide any further documents required by the current electronic service.

Professional tour-guide licensing has a different document list. The government service page identifies a personal photograph, educational qualification, personal CV, medical certificate and non-conviction certificate. It also lists eligibility conditions, including passing ministry-prepared tests, meeting the applicable age threshold, demonstrating physical fitness and holding appropriate qualifications.

Those guide-specific conditions should not be copied into the agency's document checklist as if they apply to every company applicant. Similarly, the available sources do not establish one universal foreign-ownership rule, capital requirement, insurance requirement or manager qualification for every type of tourism business. Verify such conditions against the current rules for the exact activity.

Travel agency licence fees and processing time

The fee must be checked against the specific government service and transaction being requested. The government's announcement dated 23 February 2025 states an issuance fee of OMR 57 for the travel and tourism agency licence service and describes issuance as immediate after payment.

Item	Published information	What to verify
Travel and tourism agency licence	OMR 57 in the government announcement dated 23 February 2025	Confirm the current amount shown in the official application before paying.
Alternative published agency fee	OMR 150 for certain agency-licensing items in a Ministry of Finance fee schedule	Confirm which fee item applies; the available sources do not resolve the difference conclusively.
Commercial registration	A total registration cost was not established by the sources reviewed for this article.	Budget for registration separately from tourism licensing.
Business premises	No general rental or property cost was established.	Prepare the ownership certificate or lease contract required for the agency application.
Tour-guide licence	A separate licensing service and fee structure apply.	Check the current requirements for the relevant guide category.
Agency licence processing	The 2025 announcement describes immediate issuance after payment.	Do not extend this statement to company registration or other permits.

The difference between the published OMR 57 and OMR 150 amounts should not be ignored. The Ministry of Finance's published revised fee schedule lists OMR 150 for certain travel-agency licence items, while the government service announcement specifies OMR 57 for the electronic agency service. The reviewed material does not conclusively explain whether the difference relates to the transaction type, a fee revision or the scope of the service.

For budgeting, separate the commercial-registration cost, premises expenses and any additional activity licences from the agency-licence fee. Do not present either published figure as the total cost of establishing a tourism company.

How long does it take to obtain approval?

The February 2025 government announcement describes the agency licence as being issued immediately after payment through the specified electronic service. That statement concerns the licence service itself, not the full process of establishing a business.

Company registration, preparing premises documentation and obtaining separate specialist permissions are distinct steps. The sources reviewed do not establish a guaranteed overall timeline for every tourism company, so a fixed launch date should not be promised without checking the specific application and its outstanding requirements.

Common mistakes when setting up a tourism business

Most avoidable problems begin with assumptions about the scope of a licence, the documents required or the total cost. Check these points before committing to premises or launching services.

• Treating commercial registration as the tourism licence: Registration and specialist authorisation are separate matters.
• Assuming one licence covers all services: Agency operations, professional guiding, adventure trips and tourist transportation may require different licensing routes.
• Using a published fee without checking its applicability: The government announcement and fee schedule show different agency-related amounts. Confirm the live fee for the transaction being submitted.
• Submitting incomplete premises documents: Prepare the ownership certificate or lease contract specified in the agency-service announcement.
• Applying guide-specific requirements to the whole company: A guide's professional licence has its own conditions and should be assessed separately.
• Confusing licence issuance with total setup time: Immediate issuance for one electronic service does not establish an immediate timeline for company registration or other approvals.
• Assuming foreign ownership eligibility without checking: Confirm the applicable rules for the intended commercial activity and company structure before committing funds.

Frequently asked questions

Plan your tourism business setup with Connsect

Before registering, prepare a clear list of the services you intend to offer, such as travel bookings, organised tours, tourist guiding or transportation. This allows the commercial activity and the required licensing routes to be assessed against the actual business model instead of relying on a broad company description.

Connsect assists with company setup in Oman and the assessment of business-registration requirements. Use the Connsect consultation request form to discuss the proposed activity, registration steps and additional permissions that may need to be checked. The aim is to establish the correct licensing path before committing to costs that depend on the business model.