Tourists can explore the 6-member Gulf bloc, which includes the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, and Kuwait, using a visa similar to the Schengen system.
Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, the Minister of Economy, has announced that Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations will introduce a unified tourist visa within the next two years. This visa will enable travelers to explore all six Gulf countries. The decision was unanimously approved during the seventh meeting of GCC tourism ministers in Oman and is set to be presented at the upcoming GCC summit.
The implementation of this visa, scheduled for 2024-2025, is contingent on the readiness of each GCC country’s internal systems. It will create opportunities for tourists by granting them access to all six countries under a single, unified visa, thereby promoting economic cooperation throughout the Gulf region.
The UAE is actively preparing to welcome international tourists with the introduction of this unified visa. The Emirates Tourism Council has devised a tourist route that connects its seven emirates, positioning the UAE as a well-prepared and equipped destination for integration with the GCC. This move aims to introduce an appealing tourism product to attract international visitors to the Arabian Gulf region.
The initiative aligns with the GCC 2030 tourism strategy, designed to boost the tourism sector’s contribution to GDP by increasing inter-GCC travel and enhancing hotel occupancy rates. The UAE aims to increase the tourism sector’s contribution to its GDP from 14 percent to 18 percent to achieve its strategic tourism objectives.
Al Marri emphasized the GCC countries’ sophisticated and qualified travel and tourism infrastructure. As of the end of 2022, there were 10,649 hotel establishments in the GCC, with the UAE alone having 1,114, making it the second-largest in the GCC after Saudi Arabia. The total number of hotel rooms in the GCC reached 674,832.
The GCC’s joint tourism strategy “2023-2030” targets a 7 percent annual increase in inbound trips to GCC countries, with a goal of reaching 128.7 million visitors by 2030. The spending of inbound tourists is also expected to rise by 8.0 percent annually, reaching $96.9 billion by the end of 2023. Furthermore, the direct GDP contribution of the travel and tourism sector is expected to reach US$185.9 billion in 2023, an 8.5 percent growth compared to 2022.
Al Marri noted that the GCC countries collectively offer 837 tourist sites, with the UAE leading the way with 399 of them. The UAE also hosts the majority of events and tourist activities in GCC countries, including 73 tourist events out of a total of 224 in the Gulf region.
This article is an excerpt from: https://wam.ae/en/details/1395303212803
