United Arab Emirates announces to launch the unified tourist visa 2024
Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, the Minister of Economy Announces the launch of the UAE Unified Tourist Visa
According to Emirates News Agency (WAM), the Minister of the Economy, Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, made the announcement that the Tourism Ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations have granted their permission for a single Gulf tourist visa. The GCC countries are located in the Persian Gulf.
United Arab Emirates announces to launch the unified tourist visa
At the conclusion of their seventh conference, which took place in the Sultanate of Oman, they came to this agreement.
In an interview with WAM, Al Marri noted that the following stages entail negotiations over the processes for putting into effect this visa.
Before being presented for approval at the next Gulf Summit, these topics will be discussed amongst the Ministers of the Interior of the GCC nations the following month.
It is anticipated that the unified Gulf tourist visa would enter into force between the years 2024 and 2025, after it has been approved, depending on the domestic legislation of each GCC member.
This visa will allow its holders to travel to all six GCC nations, with the goal of increasing economic integration throughout the region by luring visitors to the area and encouraging them to stay there.
In addition, Al Marri stated that the next step entails the development of a uniform tourism route throughout the Gulf that connects nations that are part of the GCC.
UAE announces to launch the unified tourist visa
After the adoption of the unified Gulf tourist visa, travelers from outside the region intending to remain in the region for more than 30 days will take this route.
As part of their preparation for the Gulf connection under the unified Gulf tourist visa, the Emirates Tourism Council has also been actively building an Emirati tourism route that unites the seven emirates. This is part of their preparations for the Gulf connection.
This project's goal is to develop a novel tourism offering that will appeal to travelers from all over the world and bring them to the Arabian Gulf area.
This action is in line with the Gulf Cooperation Council's 2030 plan, which aims to boost the tourist sector's contribution to the country's overall gross domestic product (GDP).
There is now a contribution of 14 percent to the GDP made by the tourist industry in the UAE, and there are plans to raise this percentage to 18 percent so that the UAE can reach its strategic tourism goals.
Al Marri brought attention to the fact that the GCC nations have a developed and competent infrastructure for the travel and tourist sectors of their economies.
By the end of the year 2022, the total number of hotel establishments in the area had reached 10,649. The United Arab Emirates was in second place in the Gulf, behind only Saudi Arabia.
In addition, there were a total of 674,832 available hotel rooms throughout all of the GCC's enterprises.
The unified Gulf tourism plan '2023-2030' has the objective of increasing the number of inbound flights to the GCC nations at an annual rate of 7.0 percent, with the ultimate goal of reaching 128.7 million tourists by the year 2030.
In addition, the nations hope to raise the amount of money spent by visiting tourists at an annual growth rate of 8%, with the final goal being $188 billion by the year 2030.
It is anticipated that the direct GDP of the travel and tourism industry would expand at an annual rate of 7 percent, reaching a total added value of $185.9 billion in 2023, which represents an increase of 8.5 percent in comparison to 2022.
The nations that make up the GCC together provide 837 tourist attractions, with the United Arab Emirates taking the lead in the area with 399 tourist sites and hosting 73 of the total 224 events and activities related to Gulf tourism.
