Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy, has announced that the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries will launch a unified Gulf tourist visa within the next two years, which will allow visa holders to travel across the six Gulf countries.
According to Emirates News Agency (WAM), the launching of the new visa was endorsed during the seventh meeting of GCC tourism ministers in Oman.
“Specific regulations and legislation for the visa will be developed, with a targeted rollout between 2024 and 2025, subject to the readiness of each GCC country’s internal systems,” the minister told WAM.
The unified GCC visa is set to open doors for travelers, granting them access to all six Gulf countries under a single tourist visa, thereby promoting economic synergy across the Gulf region.
With this unified visa, travelers will have access to all six Gulf countries, namely the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, and Kuwait.
Al Marri stated that the UAE is getting ready to welcome the new flow of international tourists with the introduction of the unified visa.
“The Emirates Tourism Council has formulated a tourist route within the UAE that interconnects its seven emirates. This strategic move positions the UAE to be well-prepared and equipped for the integration with the GCC, upon fully activating the unified tourist visa, thereby introducing a new, enticing tourism product to captivate international tourists in the Arabian Gulf region,” the minister said.
“This initiative is an integral part of the GCC 2030 tourism strategy, designed to elevate the tourism sector’s contribution to the GDP through increased inter-GCC travel and elevated hotel occupancy rates, transforming the GCC into a pre-eminent global destination for both regional and international tourists,” he added.
According to Al Marri, the GCC countries have 837 tourist sites, with the UAE having 399 of them, making it the GCC leader in the number of tourist sites. The UAE also hosts the majority of events and tourist activities in GCC countries, with 73 tourist events out of a total of 224 in the Gulf region.
The tourism sector’s current contribution to the UAE’s GDP stands at 14 percent, with aspirations to raise this figure to 18 percent to fulfil the nation’s strategic tourism objectives.
