Muscat: The figures highlight the GCC’s rapid growth as a global tourism hub, with spending by international visitors in 2023 already reaching $135.5 billion—marking a 28.9% increase compared to 2019, the last pre-pandemic benchmark year.

The report also revealed that visitor expenditure is expected to contribute 13.4% to total exports by 2034, underlining the sector’s growing importance in the region’s economic diversification agenda.

The GCC’s tourism surge is underpinned by strong safety rankings and increasing global mobility. The bloc ranked first in the Middle East and North Africa in the 2024 Safety and Security Index, outperforming the regional average of 5.86 points on a 7-point scale. Additionally, GCC countries now dominate the list of the six most powerful Arab passports.