GCC countries are currently in talks to launch their own ‘Schengen-style’ visa which will facilitate entry into all partner countries under one visa.

The development was revealed during this year’s Arabian Travel Market on a panel with HE Fatima Al Sairafi, Minister of Tourism, Ministry of Tourism, Kingdom of Bahrain, Undersecretary HE Abdulla Al Saleh, Government of UAE, and Fahd Hamidaddin, CEO, Saudi Tourism Authority (STA).

Responding to a question from the moderator on whether the GCC could go down the same route as the Schengen zone when it comes to visas, all panelists responded, prompting a discussion around the future image of the Gulf and how it can super-charge international visitation.

Bahrain’s minister of tourism said: “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.

“If all the GCC countries unified their efforts in promotion, the opportunities are incredible.”

The GCC countries are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.