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The purpose of this research is to examine the role, and understand the effects of, 4-Wheel-

Drive (4WD) tourism in the preservation of heritage in remote areas of the Al Jabal Al

Akhdar Mountain in the Sultanate of Oman, and how the communities of this remote region

can be helped to preserve their heritage. This region can only be reached using 4WD

vehicles, and visitors either drive themselves or join tours to become acquainted with the

area, its abandoned mud-brick villages, its oasis farming on terraces using the ancient falaj

irrigation system, and in particular the traditional rose water distillation process. In examining

how communities in Al Jabal Al Akhdar can best be helped to develop new sources of

income in order to encourage young local people to stay in the villages while at the same time

preserving their traditions, different perspectives were sought, although a local perspective

was the focus. For this, fieldwork was undertaken consisting of participation in guided tours

and personal meetings held with a number of local inhabitants. Some background information

was provided by the Omani Ministry of Tourism, but so far very little research has been done

into heritage preservation in the region, the focus so far being on developing four and five

star hotels to attract visitors, with little or no consultation with locals. Through the

observations and interactions that took place, it was found that these tourist developments do

not increase income for those who live on the mountain; rather, they take away from the

area’s sources of income. The conclusion reached was that locals desire to be involved in

promoting and preserving their heritage through the development of initiatives such as

guidebooks and using local guides in order to communicate correctly. All of this could be

developed by establishing socio-cultural initiatives that allow locals to create their own ideas

on how to generate income through community-based tourism. Local communities must be

actively involved in tourism projects from the initial planning stages, and eventually share the

benefits of the projects in their areas. Hopefully this can come to fruition before the

mountain’s traditions are lost.