6 Gulf countries to launch single tourist visa, date announced

ISLAMABAD: The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) will launch the pilot phase of its single tourist visa in the fourth quarter of this year, UAE Minister of Economy and Tourism and Emirates Tourism Council Chairman Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri said.

The project, likened to the Schengen visa, will allow tourists to travel unhindered through all six GCC nations: the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, and Kuwait. Al Marri termed the project a “strategic milestone” that enhances integration within the region and makes the Gulf a unified, appealing destination for tourists.

Telling WAM, the minister added that the visa, also known as the GCC Grand Tourist Visa, will be introduced in phases first, with the full rollout scheduled later.

Though he did not mention a precise date of introduction, he informed in a previous June 16 interview with Khaleej Times that the system had already been sanctioned and was subject to final approval from the Ministry of Interior and other stakeholders.

The price and length of the visa are to be announced. But industry experts expect it to revolutionize the tourism sector, generating thousands of jobs and a great push to regional GDP.

The visa will also stimulate both religious tourism and the increasingly popular “bleisure” travel, blending business and vacation.

Tourism officials expect all the GCC nations to benefit from the initiative, although the UAE and Saudi Arabia are most likely to capture the highest number of tourists.

In 2024, the UAE welcomed 3.3 million tourists from the GCC countries, representing 11 percent of all guests at hotels. Saudis dominated at 1.9 million, followed by Oman (777,000), Kuwait (381,000), Bahrain (123,000), and Qatar (93,000).

Emphasizing the growth of the sector at a lightning pace, Al Marri added that up to the second half of September 2025, the UAE had issued 39,546 commercial licenses covering fields like tourism, hospitality, aviation, and digital travel services, a 275 percent surge compared to the same period in 2020.