More than 75 million tourists visited Gulf Cooperation Council countries in 2025 as the region’s tourism sector continued to expand, recording an annual growth of 4.8%. Around 20 million tourists also traveled between GCC states during the year, up 3.6% from 2024, highlighting the growing appeal of destinations within the Gulf. That momentum continued into 2026. Saudi Arabia welcomed about 3.2 million tourists from other GCC countries in the first half of the year, reflecting increased regional travel and rising demand for Gulf destinations. The kingdom received about 30 million international tourists in 2025, accounting for nearly 40% of all visitors to GCC countries. Gulf tourism gathers momentum Tourism spending across the GCC exceeded $131 billion in 2025, up from about $120 billion a year earlier, GCC Secretary General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi said. The sector’s direct and indirect contribution to GCC economies reached around $254 billion, equivalent to 11.4% of gross domestic product. Albudaiwi was speaking at the 10th meeting of GCC ministers responsible for tourism in Manama. The meeting was chaired by Bahrain’s Tourism Minister Fatima bint Jaafar Al Sairafi. He said the figures reflected the progress GCC countries had made in developing tourism and underscored the sector’s growing role in supporting economic growth and diversification. Saudi Arabia took part in the meeting through Tourism Minister Ahmed Al Khateeb as part of Bahrain’s presidency of the GCC’s 46th session. Albudaiwi said the figures “do not merely represent indicators of growth” but reflect significant economic and development gains. The next phase, he said, would require GCC countries to build on those results and strengthen the sector’s ability to protect and sustain its gains amid changing conditions, in line with the GCC Tourism Strategy 2023-2030. Deeper integration between Gulf destinations Albudaiwi said the next phase would focus on three main areas: strengthening the tourism sector’s resilience and preparedness, accelerating joint GCC initiatives and projects, and deepening tourism integration among member states. The measures are intended to encourage travel within the GCC and capitalize on the diversity of tourism offerings across the Gulf. Ministers discussed a joint GCC action plan to accelerate the tourism sector’s recovery, as well as joint promotional efforts and the development of Gulf tourism packages and programs. They also considered ways to strengthen the GCC’s tourism presence in targeted international markets. The meeting reviewed plans for a joint media strategy and a GCC tourism data and indicators dashboard. The initiatives are intended to improve data availability, strengthen performance measurement and help identify opportunities for growth. Joint tourism initiatives Ministers considered several initiatives to expand tourism cooperation and integration, including joint marketing campaigns and the exchange of expertise and knowledge on tourism data and statistics. The meeting also discussed a unified tourist-guide license, common hotel-classification guidelines and the selection of the GCC Tourism Capital for 2027. International cooperation and joint tourism activities and events were also on the agenda. The measures aim to support the development of an integrated Gulf tourism product and strengthen the region’s ability to attract visitors from international markets. The meeting followed discussions at an extraordinary gathering of GCC tourism ministers in April, aimed at maintaining coordination among member states and improving the sector’s readiness to respond to changing conditions. Saudi Arabia’s participation underscored its commitment to supporting joint GCC tourism efforts, coordinating priorities and advancing cooperation among member states to strengthen integration between Gulf destinations.
