Page 823 - MOE ENGLISH PR - MAY 2024

5/13/24, 4:22 PM Schengen-style unified GCC tourist visa 'in place by end of 2024' says official, plan allows travellers to spend over 30 days in UAE…
Speaking of the unified GCC tourist visa, UAE Minister of Economy Abdulla bin Touq Al
Marri said the visa will allow travellers to visit Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Oman, Qatar

and Kuwait and spend more than 30 days in the region.

In October of last year, Al Marri announced that the tourism ministers of the Gulf
Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have given their approval for a unified Gulf tourist

visa.

GCC unified tourist visa

Now, at ATM 2024, he said: “In a significant move aimed at simplifying travel logistics
and fostering tourism, the Gulf Cooperation Council has given the green light to a

unified tourist visa that will allow travellers to visit all six countries.

“The GCC Grand Tours, that we are working on and aiming to finish, will allow tourists

to spend more than 30 days in the region.”

Khalid Jasim Al Midfa, chairman of Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Authority (SCTDA),

said the new visa system should be ready this year.,

He said: “By the end of this year, the whole system will be in place. Many people and

teams, led by the Ministry of Economy in the UAE and other ministries in other
countries, are working on it tirelessly to make it happen in the best possible way,

emphasising digital transformation.

“I believe it will be a positive initiative, leading to significant contributions to our

regional GDP within the next eight to 10 years”.

The implementation of the unified tourist visa corresponds to the GCC 2030 tourism

strategy, which seeks to amplify the tourism sector’s impact on the GDP. The strategy
anticipates that heightened travel within the GCC and improved hotel occupancy rates

will serve as pivotal catalysts for its success.

The total number of hotel establishments in the region reached 10,649 by the end of

2022, with the UAE ranking second in the Gulf after Saudi Arabia.

Additionally, the total number of rooms in hotel establishments across the GCC reached

674,832 rooms.

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