The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has approved a common tourism visa, akin to the Schengen visa, to facilitate travel across its member states. The announcement was made by Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, the Secretary General of the GCC, during the council’s summit in Muscat, Oman on November 8.
The initiative aims to allow tourists to travel throughout the six GCC countries—Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE—with a single visa. According to Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, the UAE’s Minister of Economy, this visa is expected to be operational between 2024 and 2025, pending the development of necessary regulations and readiness of internal systems in each country.
This move is part of the broader GCC 2030 tourism strategy, designed to boost the sector’s contribution to the regional GDP by increasing intra-GCC travel and hotel occupancy rates.