Unified GCC Tourist Visa Nears Launch, Aims to Boost Regional Stays
The long-anticipated unified GCC visa is finally nearing rollout, two years after it was first approved. The new visa will allow travelers to move freely among any Gulf Cooperation Council country — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates — under a single permit.
GCC Secretary General Jassem Al-Budaiwi said the visa would be launched 'soon' following a meeting with the bloc's interior ministries this week.
The initiative was first floated in May 2023 during a conference in Dubai, where ministers from across the Gulf signaled their intent to replicate the European tourism model and encourage seamless, cross-country travel. Official approval came in October 2024.
Tourism Benefits
Since its announcement, tourism leaders across the region have repeatedly pointed to the visa's potential to transform visitor flows.
At a Dubai tradeshow in May 2024, Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, the UAE's Minister of Economy, said the visa would unlock 'grand packages' lasting up to a month.
'The unified tourist visa will allow travelers to visit all six countries,' he said. 'Through the GCC grand tours we are aiming to finish, tourists will spend more than 30 days in the region.'
Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority Chairman Khalid Jasim Al Midfa, speaking at the same event, added: 'One of the main aims is to extend the length of stay. In leisure, people can travel up to four weeks. We want them to combine their holidays across the GCC.'
Raki Phillips, CEO of the Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority, also welcomed the plans at the Skift Global Forum East 2023.
'This new Schengen-style visa is huge for [GCC] tourism and Ras Al Khaimah will see a huge benefit,' he said.
Phillips stressed the need for a unified mindset: 'There is nothing more important than a collaborative approach. We should compete collaboratively. In this part of the world, we want to be collaborative. That could mean visa processing, hotels, and airlines.'
At its core, the new visa aims to reduce barriers and make travel across the Gulf simpler and more appealing.
'We have to take away the burden of travel,' Phillips said. 'We want to find those friction points and eliminate them. Travel must be more accessible.'
A Unified Gulf
In October 2023, Al Marri told UAE state news that the visa is part of a wider strategy between now and the end of the decade. "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 stated that the GCC joint tourism strategy "2023-2030" targets an annual increase of 7% in inbound trips to GCC countries, with a target of reaching 128.7 million visitors by 2030.
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