Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, UAE Economy Minister, has announced that the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries will roll out a unified Gulf tourist visa within the next two years, which will allow visa holders to travel across the six Gulf countries.
Al Marri said the seventh meeting of GCC tourism ministers in Oman has unanimously endorsed its rollout to be presented at the upcoming GCC summit.
In a statement to the Emirates News Agency (WAM), the minister said that 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.
Al Marri noted that this new visa will open doors to travellers, granting them access to six countries under a single, unified tourist visa, ultimately fostering economic synergy across the Gulf region.
He said 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, the minister said. 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.
"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," the UAE Minister added.
The tourism sector's current contribution to the UAE's GDP stands at 14 per cent, with aspirations to raise this figure to 18 per cent to fulfil the nation's strategic tourism objectives.
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