A New Common Tourism Visa Is Coming To The GCC Real Soon

A GCC common tourism visa is on its way, making the way for a new era of tourism across the region.

It will make travel to Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia much easier if you currently live in Dubai – as the plans look set to mimic Europe’s Schengen system.

After a regional ministers’ meeting at the Oman Across Ages Museum in Manah, the plan was unanimously approved at the start of October.

This time, Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council confirmed that the visa has received official approval at a meeting of regional interior ministers at the GCC summit in Muscat, Oman on Wednesday November 8.

The visa will roll out between 2024 and 2025.

In a statement to the Emirates News Agency (WAM), Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy said that the next steps are for the specific regulations and legislation for the visa to be developed.

He explained the timeline is subject to the readiness of each GCC country’s internal systems.

“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 shared.

It comes after the Oman Daily Observer reported that the proposed structure last month.

The outlet shared that Touq Al Marri said: “I think that is something which has been on the table. It’s been complementing all the GCC strategies on tourism.

“Hopefully, we are going to see something around a pan-GCC visa which will allow easier mobility of people within the GCC. A resident of Saudi, for instance, can enter the UAE and vice versa. I think that’s where we see the future of GCC tourism.

“The UAE has built an infrastructure to really accommodate all these types of tourism over the years.”