Cairo: Around 8.6 million tourists from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries visited Saudi Arabia as the kingdom is seeking to establish itself as a global holidaymaking destination.
Those tourists spent over SR15 billion during their trips in the kingdom, according to Saudi figures.
Created in 1981, the GCC comprises Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain and Qatar.
Bahrain topped the list of tourist arrivals from other GCC countries in the kingdom last year with 3.4 million, followed by Kuwait with more than 2.3 million, and the UAE with nearly 1.4 million, according to an annual report issued by the Saudi Ministry of Tourism and quoted by Saudi Al Watan newspaper.
Meanwhile, tourists arriving in Saudi Arabia from Qatar reached 1.1 million and from Oman 455,000.
In recent years, the kingdom has introduced a set of facilities aimed to draw more foreign tourists to the country as part of an ambitious development scheme designed to diversify oil-reliant economy.
Saudi Arabia’s tourism industry is flourishing. The number of tourists in the kingdom surged to more than 100 million last year. Saudi Tourism Minister Ahmed Al Khateeb said earlier this year that the kingdom’s tourism sector in 2023 fulfilled a target of 100 million tourists including 77 million local visitors and 27 million tourist arrivals.
He cited a strategy charted by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman envisaging 150 million tourists annually in the country by 2030 including 80 million domestic tourists and 70 foreign million arrivals.
Last December, a GCC summit held in Doha approved a unified Gulf tourist visa system allowing the holder to travel across the grouping’s six countries.
The Schengen-style visa, set to allow the holder to spend more than 30 days in the region, is expected to take effect later this year. It will mark a major step in providing seamless travel and boosting the bloc’s tourism industry, experts say.
