DUBAI : The much-anticipated GCC unified tourist visa has been approved and is awaiting implementation, announced UAE Minister of Economy Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri.

Speaking to English daily Khaleej Times on the sidelines of the UAE Hospitality Summer Camp press conference, Al Marri confirmed that the visa is now with the Ministry of Interior and relevant stakeholders for finalization.

Once launched, the visa will grant foreign tourists access to the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, and Kuwait with a single travel document—similar in concept to Europe’s Schengen visa.

The unified visa is expected to significantly increase tourism inflows across the region. “This will be a game-changer,” noted industry executives, who anticipate a sharp rise in ‘bleisure’ travel, where business trips are extended for leisure across neighboring countries.

According to the Statistical Centre for the Cooperation Council for the Arab Countries of the Gulf, the region received 68.1 million tourists in 2023, generating a record $110.4 billion in tourism revenue—a 42.8% increase over pre-pandemic levels in 2019.

In the UAE alone, the travel and tourism sector employed 833,000 people last year, with projections estimating that number will surpass one million by 2030. The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) had previously forecast 928,000 jobs in the UAE’s tourism sector by 2034.

Dubai continues to lead as a regional hub, attracting 7.15 million tourists in the first four months of 2025—a 7% year-on-year growth, according to the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism.

For all the latest news from Oman and GCC, follow us on Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn, like us on Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube page, which is updated daily.