Jenkins you are thinking of the period of the old Sultan Said - who is recorded as "having taken a close look at the 20th Century he'd decided he wasn't having any of it in HIS country."
These days Oman is indeed a delightful place under the wise rule of Sultan Qaboos- having served in the British Army he has an in-depth knowledge of the West- his view was that it made no sense to "turn the place into Dubai or Ibiza - we'd have to import all the materials, all the labour, all the water and the profits would all go out" and therefore he is in favour of "discerning" (= rich) tourists only. The oil helps as well of course.....................
Nice people, superb hotels and none of the issues of Dubai or Abu Dhabi - I strongly recommend it
but the airfield is in a People's Democratic Republic - which of course is none of those things..........