At the Arabian Travel Market on Monday, Khalid Jassim Al Midfa of the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Authority stated that the GCC countries will be implementing the unified tourist visa Launch System by year's end.
"The complete system will be ready by year's end. The electronic service is an essential component of the work that we do, day or night. "It will be a very good initiative and we will see a positive result for the regional economies," the cannon stated during the panel discussion hosted by the regional head of tourism. "We don't want to complicate things for people and also maintain the same level of security."
Regional tourist visas
The regional tourist visas, known as GCC Grand Tours, will enable travelers to spend more than 30 days in the six GCC member nations, according to UAE Minister of Economy Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri. "This will make travel to our region more convenient and affordable for tourists."
He added:"the application, once it enters into force, will contribute to highlighting the diverse tourist destinations in the GCC, attracting and retaining tourists for longer periods, thereby increasing the number of hotel guests and making the region one of the leading destinations for regional and international tourists alike". Al-Marri stated during his attendance at the April 28–29 World Economic Forum meeting in Riyadh.
Packaging and alignment of large events
According to the Cannon, the UAE and other Gulf nations are collaborating with significant tour operators and businesses to present offerings that will appeal to travelers from all around the area.
He also mentioned that negotiations to form agreements are taking place with hotels and airlines. "We are setting up the proper framework as a government so they may start businesses. And we can accomplish this by collaborating closely with the private sector.
Unified tourist visa
He continued by saying that businesses and travel agencies would immediately start offering packaged deals as soon as the GCC's single tourist visa is implemented.
Extending visitors' stay
He went on to say that extending visitors' stays in the UAE is one of the objectives of the GCC countries' united tourism. "People don't spend two nights in the United States. People take two to three week long vacations, and we want to integrate the packages here in the GCC to make things easy for them to purchase the packages. To ensure that there is no overlap in timing, we might need to coordinate a few significant events," he said.
He disclosed that as soon as a single tourist visa is introduced, the private sector will offer packages for both leisure and business travel.
Bahrain is also developing presentations for the entire area, said Sara Bhaji, CEO of the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority. "After spending three nights in Bahrain, travelers can continue on to Oman and Saudi Arabia. The entire region is being marketed as a single unit."We are promoting two countries as one destination under a memorandum of understanding that we have signed with Saudi Arabia, and we are doing the same with the other nations in the area," she continued.
