Many countries, including European ones, are taking multi-pronged approaches to attract GCC tourists, for they tend to be high spending visitors.
The likes of the UK and Switzerland have never hid their intentions to entice more GCC visitors. According to VisitBritain, the UK received some 452,000 visitors from the GCC between January and September 2013, up 10 per cent from the corresponding period in 2012.
It is forecast that their number could increase to 700,000 by 2016 following the easing of visa processes for GCC nationals planning a trip to the UK.
From January, passport holders of the UAE, Qatar and Oman can benefit from an electronic visa waiver (EVW) scheme. Under the plan, nationals need to submit documents online detailing their arrival details 48 hours prior to travelling in order to benefit from EVW. As part of the deal, the visa is valid for up to six months for those planning a visit, be it for leisure, business or study.
Citizens of Kuwait could join the EVW scheme this 2014. Of the GCC states, only holders of Saudi and Bahraini passports would be required to obtain prior visa for entering the UK.
Switzerland is exerting efforts to attract more GCC visitors. A few days ago, a delegation from Switzerland Tourism - including representatives from Swiss hotels - started a marketing tour of numerous GCC cities.
Swiss tour operators are building on impressive numbers related to GCC visitors, which stood at 205,736 in the first 11 months of 2013. In turn, this resulted in 593,374 overnight stays at the many Swiss hotels.
UAE citizens are en route to being exempted from obtaining visas for entering the unified visa zone of Schengen. This is to be implemented following a bilateral agreement between the two sides. This is clearly a recognition of the UAE and the wider GCC entity.
Notably, holders of GCC passports may enter more than 70 countries in different continents, but mostly in Asia, visa free or visa on arrival.
Nevertheless, the drive to entice visitors from the GCC ought to be credited to the steady expansion of Gulf carriers. Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways have emerged as global players with their long-haul flights.
The US in particular is steadily emerging as a key destination of choice for GCC carries, with direct flights linking Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha to numerous American cities.
Emirates is due to start non-stop flights to Boston starting March 10, thereby raising the number of cities served in US to eight, some of which are connected by the A380. Already, Emirates offers flights to New York, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Dallas and Washington, DC.
Qatar Airways plans to start non-stop flights to Philadelphia on April 2, building on the achievement of joining the oneworld frequent-flier alliance last year. Philadelphia is a hub for US Airways, in turn a oneworld member.
Undoubtedly, it is the spending habit of GCC visitors that distinguish them from many others. It is suggested that Saudi citizens represents one of the top five high spenders in the UK, with an average spend of $3,875 per visit.
The writer is a Member of Parliament in Bahrain.
