The direct and indirect economic value of the tourism sector in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries has increased to approximately $254.7 billion by 2025. This report indicates that the number of jobs in this sector has reached nearly 4.5 million.
Achievements of the Tourism Strategy in GCC Countries
The report "Strategic Vision for Tourism in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries," published by the GCC Statistics Center, has clarified the progress of the tourism sector in achieving the goals of the Gulf Tourism Strategy 2022-2030. According to this report, the average progress rate across the six set objectives has reached approximately 73.8% by 2025.
Tourism Strategy Goals and Related Statistics
The report identifies six main objectives for this strategy: increasing the number of inbound trips, direct GDP of the travel and tourism sector, spending by inbound tourists, the sector's share of GDP, spending by domestic tourists, and direct jobs.
The number of inbound visitors to the Gulf Cooperation Council countries reached 89.9 million in 2025, equivalent to 69.9% of the 2030 target of 128.7 million visitors. Additionally, spending by inbound tourists reached $131.9 billion, covering 70.2% of the $188 billion target.
Spending by domestic tourists also reached $42.9 billion, achieving 87.6% of the 2030 target of $49 billion. The direct GDP of the tourism and travel sector reached $101.7 billion, representing 69.8% of the 2030 target of $145.8 billion.
These statistics indicate an increase in the share of the travel and tourism sector in the GDP of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries to 4.6% in 2025, achieving 70.8% of the 2030 target of 6.5%. Furthermore, the number of direct jobs in this sector reached 2.2 million, covering 74.7% of the 2030 target of nearly 2.9 million jobs.
These indicators have strengthened the presence of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries in global tourism, with their share of total international tourism increasing to 5% and their share of global tourism revenues rising to 6.9% by 2025. Additionally, the Gulf Cooperation Council countries rank among the top six Arab countries in terms of passport power according to the Henley Passport Index 2026.
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