Between the “Traditional” and the “Modern”: Identity References in Oman’s International Tourism Discourse

In line with the goals of Oman Vision 2040, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq’s public discourse has dedicated an increased attention to promoting Oman as a tourist destination. Identity references have been largely employed for this objective, building on the narratives introduced and reproduced by Sultan Qaboos’s government (1970–2020). By adopting a Discourse-Historical methodology, this paper analyses how “identity contents” have been employed in Oman’s tourism discourse towards an international audience. First, it traces the evolution of the tourism strategies and discourses of Sultan Qaboos’s and Sultan Haitham’s governments. Then, it conducts a discourse analysis of three governmental artifacts produced for Western (mostly European) consumption between 2021 and 2022. Ultimately, the paper suggests reflections on how the tourism discourse, under both Sultans, has pursued nation branding purposes by reproducing an identity based on the dichotomy between the traditional/exotic and the modern/safe traits.