Gulf Cooperation Council approves single tourist visa

By Hoang Vu June 18, 2025 | 07:40 pm PT

A swimming pool in the Atlantis The Palm hotel in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, July 7, 2020. Photo by Reuters

A unified tourist visa has been approved by the Gulf Cooperation Council and will be rolled out soon, according to UAE Minister of Economy Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri.

The Khaleej Times newspaper reported that it is modeled on the Schengen visa system used in Europe and would allow foreign tourists to enter all six member states: the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait.

Industry insiders expect the unified visa to be a game-changer for the regional tourism industry and, in fact, the members' economies.

According to data released by the Statistical Center for the Cooperation Council for the Arab Countries of the Gulf, the region received 68.1 million visitors in 2023 and generated a record US$110.4 billion in tourism revenues, a remarkable 42.8% increase from pre-pandemic levels in 2019.