Reuters reports that a series of strikes have also hit many companies. Two have so far been resolved, at Bank Muscat, the country's largest financial institution, and government-owned Oman Air. But staff are still protesting outside other firms including Oman International Bank, Oman Investment Finance Company and the government-owned Al Bustan Palace Intercontinental Muscat Hotel, where some guests have been turned away.

Adel Aktouf, a Thomson Reuters employee, had booked a room in the hotel this week but was forced to leave. "There were at least 150 protesters when we arrived with a hotel car. Even the driver was surprised. They stopped us ten metres from the hotel and said if we wanted to go in, we had to walk," he said. "Then some gathered around us and said 'whoever goes in, we'll beat him'. So we decided to find another hotel."

Last week, wealthy Gulf Arab oil producers launched a $20 billion (12.5 billion pound) aid package for their less prosperous neighbours Oman and Bahrain - a job-generating measure that should enable the two countries to upgrade their housing and infrastructure.

Oman's state news agency said on Tuesday the sultan had ordered a salary hike of up to OR100 ($260) a month from April 1 for civil servants, including the security forces.

According a Deloitte survey on global hotel performance published last Monday, the Middle East hotel occupancy jumped 13.1 percent in January to 60 percent whereas revenue per available room (RevPAR) – a benchmark that reflects the industry’s fiscal health - reached $127 per night, trailed by $65 in Europe, $90 in Asia-Pacific and $48 in the Americas.

For the same period, Muscat enjoyed a 17.3 percent increase in hotel occupancy reaching an overall 60.9 percent and a RevPAR of $173 which represents an impressive 28.9 percent over last year.