Tourists will soon be able to visit countries such as Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with a unified Schengen-like visa.

The scheme, which is expected to go live around 2024/2025 across six nations, was made public by GCC Secretary General Jassim Al Budaiwi at the 40th meeting of GCC interior ministers in Oman, international media reported earlier today.

The Secretary-General praised the initiative, calling it a “new achievement” and an indication of the GCC leaders’ strong collaboration and sound directions.

Al Budaiwi said on the occasion, “The unified Gulf tourist visa is a project that will contribute to facilitating and streamlining the movement of residents and tourists between the six GCC countries and will, undoubtedly, have a positive [impact] on the economic and tourist sectors”.

The UAE Minister of Economy Abdullah bin Touq said the unified visa is a key component of the GCC 2030 tourism plan, which aims to enhance the sector’s economic contribution through more regional travel and higher hotel occupancy rates.

Notably, the new visa system is expected to increase the number of tourists to 128.7 million by 2030. This is an increase from 39.8 million last year, representing a 137 percent rise over 2021.

Industry experts opine that the new program will be a game changer for the GCC nexus. There is an untapped tourism market in the region, with many tourists deterred by visa complications that make travel a dismal affair.

Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths told Abu Dhabi’s The National that the new tourism visa system will be a fantastic development for the region, making it more appealing to visitors and enterprises. He remarked that the more people are encouraged to visit the Middle East, the better the world’s impression of the region will be.

The single GCC tourist visa is part of GCC’s long-term goal to increase inter-city flights and hotel visitors throughout the Gulf bloc, hence increasing tourism’s contribution to GDP.

Pertinently, tourism is a significant contributor particularly to the UAE economy, accounting for 14 percent of its GDP.

Source: Pro Pakistani