The pilot phase of the Unified Tourist Visa will be rolled out by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in the final quarter of this year, according to UAE Minister of Economy and Tourism, Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri.
In an interview with the UAE news agency, WAM, Minister Al Marri said that the GCC Tourist Visa is a “strategic step towards deeper regional integration and will enhance the Gulf’s collective appeal as a single tourism destination.”
The Unified GCC Visa will function like the Schengen Visa, enabling visitors to experience borderless travel in the GCC region. Travelers will soon be able to visit all six countries in the GCC, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, with a single visa.
However, Minister Al Marri, who is also the Chairman of the Emirates Tourism Council, did not specify the exact launch date of the Unified GCC Visa. Details of the cost and the duration of the visa have not been released yet either.
In a recent interview, Minister Al Marri announced that the GCC Tourist Visa had been approved and will be introduced soon.
Minister Al Marri mentioned that in 2024, 3.3 million visitors from GCC countries visited the UAE, making up 11% of the total hotel guests. The largest number of visitors came from Saudi Arabia, totaling 1.9 million, followed by Oman with 777,000, and Kuwait with 381,000.
He added that the number of commercial licenses in tourism, aviation, aviation technologies, hospitality, air transport, and digital tourism solutions in the UAE climbed to 39,546 by the middle of September this year, marking a 275% increase from mid-September 2020.
It is anticipated that the GCC Tourist Visa, also known as the GCC Grand Tours Visa, will significantly enhance the tourism industry across the region and stimulate job creation.
The UAE Minister said that the visa falls within the framework of the GCC’s vision to grow the tourism sector and increase its contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) of its member states.
