It seems that UAE is literally nothing but high rises or skyscrapers (basically the same with Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia or Qatar) while Oman has none of that (since most of the infrastructure is marble white or using bright colors contrasting the sun), though they’re on an even playing field when speaking about their wealth. Is it because Oman has a different approach on how they spend their money or retain cultural heritage?
The UAE’s emirates and Qatar tried to build post-oil economies with a focus on their geographic position between Europe and East Asia. They have built large aviation logistics hubs and sought to develop their economies based on that leverage. This has pushed them into international business and tourism markets. Their luxury developments come from this strategic push.
Kuwait seems happy with its oil output, so it is providing its people with a suburban American experience, which seems to be popular with the local population.
Saudi Arabia doesn’t really have a deep long term plan, with most of its infrastructure projects being led by various princes trying to increase their clout within the country. Internal royal instability had made it hard for the country to have a long term plan like the smaller countries.
Oman seems to be trying to develop a post oil economy similar to the UAE and Qatar, but doesn’t seem to be directly competing against the two countries in similar industries. Part of it could be that Oman started later, so it had both an idea of what it would work as well as being pushed out of some industries. Another part is that Oman seems to have had more/different non-oil resources it could develop.