Gulf Cooperation Council’s Unified Tourist Visa Faces Significant Hurdles

In recent visa news, Oman has cautioned about the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) unified tourist visa, signaling that the program enabling travelers to use one visa for the Gulf region may not move beyond the testing phase. In a meeting with the Shura Council, Salem Al Mahrouqi, Oman's Minister of Heritage and Tourism, noted the program's uncertain future.

"The unified GCC visa is still in the research phase," Mahrouqi stated, going on to highlight the complex challenges facing the GCC Unified Visa.

The visa scheme, designed to simplify travel across six Gulf nations including Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), faces multiple challenges, including diplomatic and security concerns.

Key issues with the visa program include lacking security protocols, divergent national policies, and fundamental differences in immigration management among Gulf states. Data sharing has so far been particularly problematic, with each country having reservations about free information exchange.

Despite these setbacks, the tourism sector in Oman continues to grow. Tourism's economic contribution to Oman has risen from 873 million Omani rials to 1 billion Omani rials in recent years.

The unified visa concept, while innovative, now faces an uncertain future as Gulf nations carefully evaluate the potential risks and benefits of the program.