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MUSCAT / WAM
The data issued by the Statistical Centre for the Cooperation Council for the Arab Countries of the Gulf (GCC-Stat) in December 2024 revealed that about 68.1 million international tourists visited the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries by the end of 2023, with an increase rate of 42.8 percent compared to the figures recorded in 2019.
The data mentioned in the “Travel and Tourism in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries” newsletter issued by the Centre indicate that the GCC countries have achieved 52.9 percent of the first strategic objective mentioned in the joint tourism strategy (2023-2030), related to gradually increasing the number of incoming trips to reach 128.7 million tourists.
The total international tourism revenues in the GCC countries increased by 28.2 percent by the end of 2023 compared to the figures of 2019, reaching $110.4 billion. This contributed to achieving 58.7 percent of the second strategic goal, which is to gradually increase international tourist spending to reach $188 billion.
The data of the GCC-Stat disclose that the percentage of intra-GCC tourism of total international tourists logged 26.9 percent, with a growth rate of 44.2 percent compared to the figures recorded in 2019.
The Asia-Pacific region accounted for the largest share of tourist export markets to the GCC countries by 38 percent, followed by the Middle East with 25.1 percent, Europe with 22.9 percent, Africa with 8.8 percent, and the Americas with 4.3 percent.
Tourism indicators are positively reflected on the sector in the GCC countries in terms of infrastructure.
The data issued by the Centre indicate that 10,893 hotel establishments were recorded in the GCC countries in 2023, including 697 rooms.
They also reveal that 5 of the GCC countries exceeded the regional average in air transport infrastructure.
The travel and tourism sector contributed 10.8 percent to the Gulf GDP, with an annual growth rate of 29.4 percent compared to the figures logged in the previous year. The added value of the sector reached about $223.4 billion by the end of 2023.
The total number of workers in the tourism sector in the GCC countries reached about 1.5 million persons by the end of 2023, with a growth rate of 17 percent compared to 2019. The added value of the travel and tourism sector in employment amounted to $4.04 billion, with an annual growth rate of 15.5 percent for the years 2022 and 2023. The GCC countries exceeded the regional indicator for human resources and the labor market in the Global Travel and Tourism Development Index 2024.
Women accounted for 12.4 percent of workers in the tourism sector in the GCC countries, achieving an annual growth rate of 27.5 percent compared to the figures recorded in 2020. This highlights the efforts exerted to empower women in this vital sector.
The tourism sector enhances environmental sustainability in the GCC countries. The percentage of natural reserves out of the total area of the GCC countries increased to 15.1 percent in 2023, with an annual growth rate of 39 percent during the period from 2017 to 2023.