GCC To Launch Schengen-Style Single Tourist Visa: Who Will Be The Beneficiaries?
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries will launch the pilot phase of the unified tourist visa in the fourth quarter of this year, informed Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri, UAE Minister of Economy and Tourism and Chairman of the Emirates Tourism Council.
The unified GCC tourist visa – also known as GCC Grand Tourist Visa – is similar to the Schengen-style visa, offering visitors to visit all six GCC countries, the UAE Minister said.
This strategic step towards deeper regional integration will enhance the Gulf’s collective appeal as a single tourism destination.
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In an interview with the UAE’s new agency Wam, the UAE minister said that the full implementation of the visa will be rolled out at a later stage. However, no exact date for the launch of the single GCC visa has been disclosed.
The GCC Grand Tourist Visa will allow foreign tourists to visit the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, and Kuwait on a single visa.
The cost and duration of the visa have not been disclosed yet.
Travel and tourism industry executives believe that the visa will be a game-changer for the regional tourism industry and overall economies, creating thousands of new employment opportunities along with a big boost to the GDP.
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As per the experts, the UAE and Saudi Arabia will be the biggest beneficiaries with more tourist visits. In 2024, the UAE received nearly 3.3 million visitors from GCC countries 2024, while Saudi Arabia registered 1.9 million visitors, followed by Oman with 7,77,000, Kuwait with 3,81,000, Bahrain with 1,23,000, and Qatar with 93,000 GCC visitors.
The UAE minister told Wam that a 275 per cent increase was observed in comparison to mid-September 2020, with the number of commercial licences in tourism, hospitality, aviation, air transport, aviation technologies, and digital tourism solutions in the UAE reaching 39,546 by mid-September 2025.
