A unified tourist visa was recently introduced for the member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The meeting where the decision was taken also approved the launch of the first phase of an electronics system for interlinking data on traffic violations in GCC countries. Earlier, the UAE had revealed that a unified tourist visa for the Dubai-GCC area had been approved and that it would come into force in 2024. The UAE’s official news agency, WAM, had reported that the procedures for implementing the visa scheme would be discussed soon.
Easier for tourists to explore the region
Once it comes into force, only one visa would be required for tourists to explore six Gulf nations – Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The Schengen visa is a similar facility that makes it very convenient for tourists to visit European countries on a single visa. The visa is expected to become a reality within two years. It's expected to attract 12.87 crore tourists to the Gulf by 2030. During the visa period, travellers can stay in each country for a fixed number of days, visit tourist centres and proceed to the neighbouring country. The fact that it does not require any formal procedures will prove convenient to tourists.
There are 837 tourist sites in total in these six countries, of which the UAE has 399. The region also has a total of 224 tourism events and activities, as per reports. As for the number of hotel rooms, there are a total of 6,74, 832 in the region, which aims to increase its foreign tourists by over 220% by 2030.
