MUSCAT: International tourism revenues earned by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states amounted to $110.4 billion in 2023, according to recent data published by the GCC Statistical Centre.
This figure represents a 28.2 per cent increase compared to 2019, when revenues were $86.1 billion. GCC earnings constituted 7.2 per cent of the global market share, emphasising the GCC’s role as an attractive tourism destination.
In terms of revenue, the United Arab Emirates ranked first with $51.9 billion, followed by Saudi Arabia with $40.6 billion, Qatar with $8.8 billion, Bahrain with $5.1 billion, Oman with $2.3 billion, and Kuwait with $1.7 billion.
In terms of revenue growth compared to 2019, Qatar experienced the highest growth rate at 61.7 per cent, followed by Kuwait at 41.9 per cent and the UAE at 35.1 per cent. Bahrain recorded a 33 per cent increase, Saudi Arabia saw a 15.3 per cent increase, and Oman experienced growth of 14.9 per cent.
With these revenues, the Gulf states achieved 58.7 per cent of their 2030 target goal of increasing international tourist expenditure to $188 billion, as outlined in the GCC tourism strategy.
The number of international tourists grew by 42.8 per cent compared to 2019, reaching a total of 68.1 million visitors, which represents 5.2 per cent of the global market share.
The UAE ranked first in terms of tourist attraction with 28.1 million visitors, followed by Saudi Arabia with 27.4 million visitors, Bahrain with 5.6 million visitors, Qatar with 4.1 million visitors, Oman with 2.8 million visitors, and Kuwait ranking last with 0.4 million visitors.
In terms of tourist growth, Qatar ranked first with a growth rate of 91.9 per cent compared to 2019, followed by Saudi Arabia with 56.5 per cent growth and Bahrain with 44.3 per cent. The UAE demonstrated a growth rate of 30.3 per cent, while tourists visiting Oman grew by 13.9 per cent. Kuwait, however, experienced a sharp decline in visitors, with a drop of 59.8 per cent.
The largest share of international tourists to the GCC came from Asia and the Pacific, accounting for 38 per cent of total visitors, followed by the Middle East at 25.1 per cent, Europe at 22.9 per cent, and Africa at 8.8 per cent. Visitors from the Americas represented 4.3 per cent of the total, followed by unspecified destinations at 0.9 per cent.
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