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6/17/25, 11:47 AM GCC tourist visa approved, to be rolled out 'soon', says top official | Khaleej Times

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have been discussing rolling out a unified tourist visa
or GCC Grand Tours Visa for the region, similar to the Schengen tourist visa, over the past few years.
GCC Grand Tours Visa

This visa will allow foreign tourists to visit all six member states – the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain,
tourists to visit all six member states
Qatar, Oman and Kuwait – on a single visa.

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Industry executives believe that the unified visa will be a game-changer for the regional tourism
industry and overall economies, creating jobs along with a big boost to GDP.

They believe that the much-awaited unified GCC tourist visa will boost 'bleisure' (business-leisure)
travel in the region, as visitors will increasingly mix the two to extend their trips to explore the

neighbouring countries.

According to data released by the Statistical Centre for the Cooperation Council for the Arab

Countries of the Gulf, the region welcomed 68.1 million visitors in 2023 and generated a record

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