Over 75 million tourists visited Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in 2025, as the region’s tourism sector recorded a 4.8% annual growth, according to figures provided by GCC Secretary General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi.
Regional Travel and Saudi Arabia’s Visitor Share
In 2025, approximately 20 million tourists traveled between GCC member states, increasing by 3.6% compared to 2024. Saudi Arabia received the largest share of international visitors, with about 30 million tourists accounting for nearly 40% of all arrivals to GCC countries that year. Additionally, in the first half of 2026, the kingdom hosted around 3.2 million tourists from other GCC states, reflecting rising regional travel demand.
Tourism Spending and Economic Contribution
Total
tourism spending across the GCC exceeded $131 billion in 2025, up from $120 billion in 2024. The sector contributed directly and indirectly about $254 billion to the GCC economies, equating to 11.4% of the region’s gross domestic product.
GCC Ministers Meeting in Manama
The 10th GCC tourism ministers meeting convened in Manama, Bahrain, in 2026, under the chairmanship of Bahrain’s Tourism Minister Fatima bint Jaafar Al Sairafi. Saudi Arabia was represented by Tourism Minister Ahmed Al Khateeb. Secretary General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi presented the figures to the ministers and emphasized tourism’s growing role in economic diversification.
Strategic Initiatives and Joint Action Plan
The ministers reviewed a joint GCC action plan to
accelerate tourism recovery and discussed joint media strategies alongside the development of Gulf tourism packages. They examined establishing a unified tourist-guide license, common hotel classification standards, and selecting the GCC Tourism Capital for 2027. The meeting also endorsed creating a GCC tourism data and indicators dashboard to enhance data availability, support performance evaluation, and identify growth opportunities.
Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi commented, the tourism figures “do not merely represent indicators of growth” but highlight tangible economic and development gains. The GCC Tourism Strategy 2023-2030’s next phase will focus on strengthening sector resilience, accelerating collaborative projects, and deepening tourism integration among member
states.
Background and Sector Coordination
This 10th meeting followed an extraordinary GCC tourism ministers gathering in April 2026, which aimed to improve coordination for sector readiness and response to evolving conditions. The ministers agreed on enhancing joint marketing, expertise exchange, and international cooperation to build an integrated Gulf tourism offering.
Saudi Arabia’s active participation reflects its commitment to supporting joint GCC tourism priorities and advancing cooperation among member states to boost regional integration and tourist flows.
