More than 20 million tourists travelled between Gulf Cooperation Council countries in 2025, with intra-regional traffic rising 3.6 per cent from a year earlier, new GCC statistics show.
The Statistical Centre for the Cooperation Council for the Arab Countries of the Gulf, or GCC-Stat, put intra-GCC tourism at about 20.1 million travellers as the six-member bloc recorded broader gains in visitor arrivals, tourism revenue and accommodation capacity during the year.
Preliminary figures published in GCC-Stat's bulletin, Gulf Tourism in the Era of Smart Transformation, showed inbound tourism across the GCC reached about 75.7 million visitors in 2025, an increase of 4.9 per cent compared with 2024.
Tourism revenue grew more rapidly than visitor numbers, rising 9.7 per cent to approximately $131.9 billion. Average tourism revenue was about $1,743 for each inbound visitor, with GCC-Stat saying the gap between revenue and arrivals growth pointed to higher economic value generated by tourism activity and increased average visitor spending.
The data underline the growing importance of travel within the Gulf alongside international arrivals as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar seek closer regional tourism integration. GCC-Stat's tourism and culture statistics platform records intra-Gulf tourism as a distinct measure alongside inbound, outbound and domestic travel.
The bulletin was issued around World Tourism Day, observed on September 27, and focused on tourism performance as well as the digital readiness of GCC countries. It identified technology, data and artificial intelligence as increasingly important tools for improving visitor services and managing destinations.
Accommodation infrastructure also expanded during 2025. The number of hotel establishments across the GCC reached about 12,400, up 4.8 per cent from the previous year, indicating continued additions to accommodation capacity and investment in tourism services.
Separate figures cited this month by GCC Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi put tourism's direct and indirect contribution to the bloc's economies at more than $254 billion in 2025, equivalent to 11.4 per cent of combined gross domestic product. He said the sector's economic contribution grew at an average annual rate of about 7.3 per cent between 2019 and 2025, compared with 6.7 per cent globally.
Albudaiwi has also linked stronger intra-GCC tourism to efforts to build a more interconnected regional tourism ecosystem. GCC governments are pursuing joint initiatives intended to improve connectivity, tourism data and coordination while developing destinations as complementary parts of a wider Gulf market.
GCC-Stat said rapid advances in digital technologies and artificial intelligence were pushing Gulf tourism towards a model built more heavily around data and innovation. The centre said such tools could improve tourist experiences, support decision-making and skills development, and increase the efficiency and sustainability of destination management.
Digital readiness indicators in the bulletin showed every GCC country scored at least 60 points on the Mobile Application Development Index. GCC-Stat said those capabilities could be used to create tourism applications that make information and services easier to access before, during and after journeys.
The centre also highlighted greater integration of tourism data between member states, shared digital platforms and links among booking, transport and event services as areas that could support a more connected visitor experience across the region.
Longer-term projections contained in the bulletin put tourism's contribution to GCC gross domestic product at about $365.7 billion by 2035. Employment supported by the sector is projected to reach about 5.8 million jobs across the six countries by that year.
The projections accompany the GCC Tourism Strategy 2023-2030, under which member states are working on common tourism priorities while retaining their national development programmes. GCC officials have emphasised coordination on connectivity and movement between member states as part of that approach.
Tourism ministers from the six states reviewed regional cooperation at their September meeting in Bahrain, including tourism packages, coordinated promotion, common statistics and a GCC tourism data and indicators dashboard. The agenda included a unified tourism-guide licence and hotel-classification guidelines to coordinate services and standards across national markets.
The Statistical Centre for the Cooperation Council for the Arab Countries of the Gulf, or GCC-Stat, put intra-GCC tourism at about 20.1 million travellers as the six-member bloc recorded broader gains in visitor arrivals, tourism revenue and accommodation capacity during the year.
Preliminary figures published in GCC-Stat's bulletin, Gulf Tourism in the Era of Smart Transformation, showed inbound tourism across the GCC reached about 75.7 million visitors in 2025, an increase of 4.9 per cent compared with 2024.
Tourism revenue grew more rapidly than visitor numbers, rising 9.7 per cent to approximately $131.9 billion. Average tourism revenue was about $1,743 for each inbound visitor, with GCC-Stat saying the gap between revenue and arrivals growth pointed to higher economic value generated by tourism activity and increased average visitor spending.
The data underline the growing importance of travel within the Gulf alongside international arrivals as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar seek closer regional tourism integration. GCC-Stat's tourism and culture statistics platform records intra-Gulf tourism as a distinct measure alongside inbound, outbound and domestic travel.
The bulletin was issued around World Tourism Day, observed on September 27, and focused on tourism performance as well as the digital readiness of GCC countries. It identified technology, data and artificial intelligence as increasingly important tools for improving visitor services and managing destinations.
Accommodation infrastructure also expanded during 2025. The number of hotel establishments across the GCC reached about 12,400, up 4.8 per cent from the previous year, indicating continued additions to accommodation capacity and investment in tourism services.
Separate figures cited this month by GCC Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi put tourism's direct and indirect contribution to the bloc's economies at more than $254 billion in 2025, equivalent to 11.4 per cent of combined gross domestic product. He said the sector's economic contribution grew at an average annual rate of about 7.3 per cent between 2019 and 2025, compared with 6.7 per cent globally.
Albudaiwi has also linked stronger intra-GCC tourism to efforts to build a more interconnected regional tourism ecosystem. GCC governments are pursuing joint initiatives intended to improve connectivity, tourism data and coordination while developing destinations as complementary parts of a wider Gulf market.
GCC-Stat said rapid advances in digital technologies and artificial intelligence were pushing Gulf tourism towards a model built more heavily around data and innovation. The centre said such tools could improve tourist experiences, support decision-making and skills development, and increase the efficiency and sustainability of destination management.
Digital readiness indicators in the bulletin showed every GCC country scored at least 60 points on the Mobile Application Development Index. GCC-Stat said those capabilities could be used to create tourism applications that make information and services easier to access before, during and after journeys.
The centre also highlighted greater integration of tourism data between member states, shared digital platforms and links among booking, transport and event services as areas that could support a more connected visitor experience across the region.
Longer-term projections contained in the bulletin put tourism's contribution to GCC gross domestic product at about $365.7 billion by 2035. Employment supported by the sector is projected to reach about 5.8 million jobs across the six countries by that year.
The projections accompany the GCC Tourism Strategy 2023-2030, under which member states are working on common tourism priorities while retaining their national development programmes. GCC officials have emphasised coordination on connectivity and movement between member states as part of that approach.
Tourism ministers from the six states reviewed regional cooperation at their September meeting in Bahrain, including tourism packages, coordinated promotion, common statistics and a GCC tourism data and indicators dashboard. The agenda included a unified tourism-guide licence and hotel-classification guidelines to coordinate services and standards across national markets.
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