GCC countries are discussing ways and means to introduce a regional tourist visa on similar lines of the Schengen visa in Europe.
This new visa would enable visitors to enter all partner countries using a single visa.
As per a report by PMV Middle East’s sister publication Hotelier Middle East, the revelation about the development of the “Schengen-style” visa in GCC countries was made during a panel discussion at the Arabian Travel Market.
The panel included HE Fatima Al Sairafi, Minister of Tourism at the Ministry of Tourism in Bahrain, Undersecretary HE Abdulla Al Saleh from the Government of UAE, and Fahd Hamidaddin, CEO of the Saudi Tourism Authority (STA).
“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, Hotelier Middle East reported.
FIFA World Cup first ‘test pilot’ for Schengen-style visa
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.