Single visa system could simplify travel to Middle East countries

ONE SINGLE VISA TO RULE THEM ALL

Tourists wanting to travel to the Gulf countries of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates may soon only require a single visa in order to visit all the countries.

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According to travel news, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is developing a single unified visa system to help simplify travel for tourists visiting the Gulf region.

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The visa is also being created in the hopes that the unified system will help boost tourism in the region.

The strategy has aims to boost the number of foreign visitors to these Gulf countries to 128.7 million by 2030, up from the 39.8 million visitors accommodated last year, travel news says.

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‘MORE ATTRACTIVE TO VISITORS’

According to Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, the visa will be an important development for tourism in the region as it will make the region more attractive to visitors. 

“The development of tourism in other countries in the Middle East will make the whole region more attractive and encourage more businesses,” Griffiths said. 

“If things continue to go well, I am hopeful that by the end of the year we may be close to our original pre-pandemic numbers,” Griffiths added. 

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It has not yet been revealed when the unified visa sytem will be available to tourists.