Unified GCC tourist visa will be put in place by the end of year by the regional countries

According to Khalid Jasim Al Midfa of the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Authority (SCTDA), the regional nations will implement the system to introduce the unified GCC tourist visa before the end of the year at the Arabian Travel Market on Monday. The GCC Grand Tours regional tourist visas, according to UAE Minister of Economy Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, will let travelers stay in the GCC's six member nations for more than 30 days. 

According to Al Midfa, the UAE and other Gulf nations are collaborating with major travel operators and businesses to launch packages that cover the entire area. He also mentioned that negotiations to form agreements are taking place with hotels and airlines.

He continued by saying that businesses and tour operators would immediately launch bundled packages as soon as the GCC single tourist visa is implemented.

He went on to say that extending visitors' stays in the UAE is one of the goals of the GCC's single tourism initiative. "People don't spend two nights in the US. People take two to three weeks off for leisure trips, therefore we want to make things easier for them by combining packages here in the GCC and purchasing a package. To ensure that there is no overlap in timing, we might need to align some of the major events.

He disclosed that with the introduction of a single tourist visa, the private sector will offer travel packages for both pleasure and business travelers.