The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are in talks to introduce a “Schengen-style visa” that would allow tourists to visit all partner countries under one visa, according to a report by Arabian Business’ sister publication Hotelier Middle East.
The announcement was made by Fatima Al Sairafi, Minister of Tourism for the Kingdom of Bahrain, Undersecretary HE Abdulla Al Saleh, Government of UAE, and Fahd Hamidaddin, CEO of the Saudi Tourism Authority (STA) during the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) which runs until May 4.
“We have huge opportunity, the effort is in how to unify all the countries in the GCC. We had 9.9 million visitors in 2022. How? There was one key initiative that year, we started to co-promote Bahrain as a unified destination with the GCC,” Al Sairafi said, adding that the opportunities are “incredible” if all GCC countries unified their efforts in promotion.
Last year’s FIFA World Cup was seen as a successful “test pilot” for cross-collaboration between the Gulf countries.
Saudi Arabia, for example, provided 60-day visas to all Hayya Card holders during the event. The success of the World Cup has sparked discussions about similar, more permanent travel policies, which would allow tourists to move freely between countries without restrictions, the report said.
The GCC countries, which includes UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain are all reportedly regulating visas at different paces, making visa policies “naturally tricky,” according to STA’s Hamidaddin.
However, he stressed that “collaboration is the name of the game” and that the success of each GCC country complements the other.
Al Sairafi added that discussions were ongoing, and there was a growing recognition that a Schengen-style visa for the Gulf region could be hugely beneficial.
Easy travel across the Gulf would increase tourism for everyone, and the visitor would be happier visiting several countries without restrictions crossing borders.
Follow us on
