09 Feb Interview with Ken Mueller, General Manager of Yahya Nasib Global, Oman
Yahya Nasib Global group’s flagship project in Oman is Dolphin Village, a luxury residential resort community in a stunning location on the edge of Muscat and only 10 minutes from the airport. How would you describe the village to our readers?
We are mostly an expat community, although it includes a number of Omanis. We’re not huge, but we are big enough to offer a lot of facilities and to create a sense of home and belonging. One of our taglines is: “It’s not just where you live, it’s how you live,” and we are focused on maintaining a total community feel.
At last count, we had 53 countries represented in our community. We have 337 units housing about 1000 people in total, making it a dynamic, multicultural environment.
We are unique in the sense that we are the only facility in Muscat that has its own full-service clubhouse. Members and residents have access to three swimming pools, two gyms, a children’s gym and a full-service spa, plus squash, tennis, badminton and basketball courts.
You are a US-citizen. What does the country offer international tourists and how is the sector evolving?
I first came here in 1988, when Oman was a closed country and there were no tourists. In the early 90s, it started opening up to tourism on an elite basis, and over the years it has opened to regular tourism. Oman is a fantastic country, as far as culture, wildlife and nature are concerned, with tremendous tourism potential. If Dubai is a manmade wonder, Oman is the natural wonder: mountains, beaches, deserts and all the activities that they allow.
Within a two-hour drive from Muscat, there is the desert with its beautiful sunsets and night skies; there are mountains and deep gorges at Jabal Akhdal and Jabal Shams; and you can take a 45-minute boat ride to an island with great natural beauty and scuba diving opportunities. On the south coast is Salalah with its phenomenal white beaches and temperate climate, and Sur, where turtles lay their eggs in the sand. For the adventurous, there are four-wheel drive adventures across the desert or down the coastline, and ancient ruins and forts to explore. Muscat has five-star hotels and, of course, our own public Dolphin Club, which is a more relaxed place with live music, and plenty of activities to enjoy.
Tourism has grown significantly and this has been supported by the government. For example, a number of new places are being built that will attract “permanent” tourism, meaning people who want a piece of property in Oman and will become regular visitors. In the US, we call them “snow birds” — people who live in the north but have residences in the south where they spend the colder seasons.
In terms of infrastructure and facilities for visitors, and do you think existing projects and those in the pipeline will be enough to accommodate forecast increases in tourists coming to Oman?
I think what we have in the pipeline is more than enough to handle current projections. One of our challenges is direct flights, which are important to our tourism industry, although some groups are now bringing charter flights into Muscat.
As an American in Oman, how would you summarize Oman’s appeal to your fellow countrymen?
If you want to visit a unique part of the world, Oman has taken a different path from many countries in the region and has taken steps to preserve its history and culture, and the people are the friendliest you will ever meet. Oman is a hidden gem, and the many people who have come to visit me in the years that I have been here have always loved the place.