Team Blitz India
THE Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries will roll out a unified Gulf tourist visa within the next two years which will allow visitors to travel across the six Gulf countries, announced UAE Minister of Economy Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri recently. 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.
He added that the UAE is getting ready to welcome the new flow of international tourists with the introduction of the unified visa which will grant visitors access to six countries under a single, unified tourist visa, ultimately fostering economic synergy across the Gulf region.
This appears similar to the Schengen visa that allows short-term visitors to travel to 29 countries in the European Union with a single permit. 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. The tourism sector’s current contribution to the UAE’s GDP stands at 14%, with aspirations to raise this figure to 18% to fulfil the nation’s strategic tourism objectives.
