Islamabad, June 18, 2025: The unified tourist visa for Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states has received the green light and is expected to be introduced shortly, stated Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, the UAE’s Minister of Economy.
“The single (GCC) tourist visa has been approved and waiting now to be implemented, hopefully, soon. Now, it is with the Ministry of Interior and the relevant stakeholders and they should look into it,” Al Marri said in an interview with Khaleej Times during the UAE Hospitality Summer Camp press briefing held on Monday.
The six GCC nations have been in talks for years about launching a shared tourist visa — known as the GCC Grand Tours Visa — much like Europe’s Schengen visa system.
This visa will permit international travelers to explore all six member countries; UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, and Kuwait under a single entry pass.
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Experts in the tourism industry believe this unified visa initiative could transform tourism across the region and positively influence the broader economy, employment and will contribute significantly to GDP growth.
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They also believe this long-awaited GCC unified tourist visa will enhance ‘bleisure’ travel, a blend of business and leisure, with more visitors expected to extend their business visits into vacations across neighboring Gulf countries.
