Cars pass by a metro train on Sheikh Zayed Highway in Dubai United Arab Emirates, Saturday, July 1, 2023. (PHOTO / AP)

A unified travel visa for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries could help develop the region’s reputation as a long-holiday destination, rather than just for short-haul trips, experts said.

But the GCC, which comprises Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirate (UAE), Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman, will have to work on creating their “bucket lists” to give travelers more reasons to stay longer and spend more in their destination countries, alongside the hassle-free scheme that is being planned, they added.

UAE’s minister of economy, announced that the GCC countries would be rolling out a synchronized Gulf tourist visa within the next two years, the Emirates News Agency, or WAM, reported on Oct 23

The single Gulf visa – like the Schengen visa of Europe, the world’s largest travel-free zone – was first floated at the Arabian Travel Market trade show in Dubai in May. The Schengen area has 27 states and visas issued to travelers allow them to enter the zone for transit or short stays of up to 180 days.

READ MORE: Gulf countries pivoting toward eastern Asia seen as logical

The Schengen Agreement, which was implemented in 1995, is a concept of free movement to enable the European Union’s working population to easily travel and settle in any EU state, according to the European Commission website.

Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, the UAE’s minister of economy, announced that the GCC countries would be rolling out a synchronized Gulf tourist visa within the next two years, the Emirates News Agency, or WAM, reported on Oct 23. 

He said that specific regulations and legislation for the visa will be developed, with a targeted rollout between 2024 and 2025, subject to the readiness of each GCC country's internal systems. Al Marri also noted that the unified visa would open doors to travelers, ultimately fostering economic synergy across the Gulf region.

"This initiative is an integral part of the GCC 2030 tourism strategy, designed to elevate the tourism sector's contribution to the GDP through increased inter-GCC travel and elevated hotel occupancy rates, transforming the GCC into a pre-eminent global destination for both regional and international tourists," Al Marri was quoted as saying by WAM.

Patrick Cooke, managing editor of the Gulf and Asia regions at research consultancy Oxford Business Group, told China Daily that a common travel visa “would help international visitors to view the Gulf region as an aspirational destination for a long holiday” rather than a short transit stop or business travel location, ultimately generating more tourism revenues and hospitality jobs in the process.

“A common GCC travel visa would have a positive impact on the region’s tourism industry. As we have seen with the Schengen visa in Europe, such an initiative would encourage more travelers to visit several countries during the same trip, or in subsequent trips, rather than confine themselves to one destination,” Cooke said.

In recent years, some countries — like the UAE in 2017, and Saudi Arabia and Qatar during the pandemic — had introduced stopover programs and discounts with hotel packages, which range from 24 to 96 hours. The aim of these stopover packages is to encourage more visitors to take a break and see the cities as more than just a transit destination.

Saudi Arabia welcomed 16.6 million people, while other top tourist recipients in the Gulf that year included Bahrain with 3.7 million visitors, as well as Qatar at 2.6 million and Oman at 2.9 million

According to the Arabian Travel Market report of 2019, more than 63 percent of the 89 million passengers who passed through Dubai airport in 2018 were in transit with just 8 percent of the passengers leaving the airport to explore the emirate.

Peggy Li, managing partner at Sps;affinity, a service-centric global strategy and communications consultancy based in Dubai, told China Daily that the unified GCC visa “will make a lot of sense for the GCC’s internal travel”.

But one has to bear in mind, she said, that visitors within or from the GCC already freely travel during the holidays and constantly gather in Dubai “because of the matured mix of product offerings, such as entertainment and other sightseeing attractions”.

“And that needs to be cultivated more among other members. Shopping, for example, is no longer the viable avenue to attract the Chinese tourists,” said Li, adding that it is “not only about the movement of people that is needing enhancement” among GCC member countries, but also about finding their unique selling point, or USP.

She noted that at the moment only Dubai has “many bucket lists” in regard to visitor experiences and that the rest of the GCC region needed to catch up. It is worth exploring partnership packages to create, for example, week-long trips where visitors could do two days in Dubai, one day in Abu Dhabi, and two days in Qatar “to make it worthwhile”.

“From now until 2030, we still have six years … how are you going to find something to capitalize on with your current infrastructure and your current availability?” said Li.

On Sept 19, the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) reported that international tourism has continued to recover as arrival numbers reached 84 percent of pre-pandemic levels between January and July this year. The Middle East reported the best results in the period with arrivals 20 percent above pre-pandemic levels. It continues to be the only one to exceed 2019 levels so far. 

In 2022, the GCC received 48 million international arrivals, and the UAE emerged as the top tourist destination in the region, receiving 22.7 million visitors, according to the UNWTO.

READ MORE: Gulf Arab, Central Asian countries to further cooperation

Saudi Arabia welcomed 16.6 million people, while other top tourist recipients in the Gulf that year included Bahrain with 3.7 million visitors, as well as Qatar at 2.6 million and Oman at 2.9 million.

Cooke, from Oxford Business Group, said the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar demonstrated that the transport infrastructure already exists to facilitate easy travel among GCC countries. Its six members are all intent upon developing their tourism industries as part of a wider economic diversification, and anything that can enhance the region’s appeal to international visitors “would be a net positive”. 

 “Although there is naturally, an element of competition between neighboring countries, ultimately all countries would benefit from visitors choosing to extend their trips in the region to visit several destinations,” said Cooke.

Contact the writer at jan@chinadailyapac.com