The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) will be rolling out the pilot phase of the Unified Visa in the fourth quarter of this year, according to UAE Minister of Economy and Tourism, Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri.
Minister Al Marri, who is also the Chairman of the Emirates Tourism Council, said during a recent interview that the highly anticipated visa is a “strategic step towards deeper regional integration”, adding that it will “enhance the Gulf’s collective appeal as a single tourism destination.”
He said that this visa is aligned with the GCC’s goal to develop the tourism industry and enhance its contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) of the GCC countries.
The Schengen-style visa will enable visitors to travel to all six GCC countries, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, with a single online application.
The UAE Minister, however, did not mention the launch date of the pilot phase of the Unified Tourist Visa. The cost and the duration of the visa have not been announced yet either.
Minister Al Marri shared statistics that in 2024, the UAE received 3.3 million visitors from the GCC countries, which made up 11 per cent of all hotel guests. Saudi Arabia topped the list with 1.9 million visitors, while Oman recorded 777,000, Kuwait 381,000, Bahrain 123,000, and Qatar 93,000.
He continued that there has been a 275% increase from 2020 to 2025 in the number of commercial licenses in tourism, aviation, aviation technologies, hospitality, air transport, and digital tourism solutions in the UAE.
Travel and tourism professionals are looking forward to the implementation of the GCC Tourist Visa as they expect it will give a significant boost to the tourism industry and create thousands of jobs.