Tui had been hoping to start sending UK holidaymakers to Oman as early as winter 2028 after last year forging a "long-term strategic partnership" with the country's government, which would see Oman take a 1.4% stake in Europe's largest travel firm.
Tui and Oman said in September there was an opportunity to put the country on the world tourism map and transform it into "a leading sun and beach destination".
However, Tui Group on Monday (9 March) said the project with Oman's tourism development company, Omran Group, had been placed on hold.
A statement read: “On 18 September 2025, Tui and Omran Group signed a binding partnership agreement to jointly establish a local hospitality joint venture.
“Since then, Tui and Omran Group have worked on the implementation of this project. Omran Group has now informed Tui that the agreed project timeline of 31 March 2026 is no longer achievable.
“Consequently, the project implementation will be suspended. This includes both the planned ownership and development of five new hotels in the Dhofar Governorate, as well as Omran’s planned acquisition of a 1.4% shareholding in Tui.”
The statement added Tui and Omran Group would “continue its close dialogue”.
Although it is not referenced in the statement, it comes 10 days after US and Israeli strikes on Iran, and a subsequent counter-offensive, which has dragged several nations in the Middle East into conflict.
Oman is situated south of Iran bordering the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Despite the conflict, it has kept its airspace open, allowing a number of UK government charter flights to operate bringing UK nationals home from the region.
