Muscat- Worldwide tourism revenues within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) international locations reached roughly US$120.2 billion in 2024, a rise of 39.6 % in comparison with 2019 and eight.9 % in comparison with 2023, elevating the GCC’s share of worldwide tourism revenues to 7.5 %.
Knowledge issued by the Statistical Heart of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf defined that this displays the continued robust efficiency of inbound tourism to the GCC international locations throughout 2024, recording outstanding development within the variety of guests, revenues and jobs, which boosts the sector’s function as one of many essential drivers of financial diversification and assist for the gross home product.
The “Journey and Tourism within the GCC International locations for 2024” report issued by the middle signifies that the entire variety of worldwide vacationers coming to the GCC reached 72.2 million vacationers in 2024, reaching a development of 51.5 % in comparison with 2019, and 6.1 % in comparison with 2023, elevating the market share of the area to five.2 % of worldwide tourism.
This efficiency displays a restoration that surpasses pre-pandemic ranges, pushed by expanded air connectivity, visa facilitation, and a diversification of tourism merchandise.
The information additionally confirmed an growing variety in tourist-generating markets, with the Center East accounting for 18.8 % of whole incoming vacationers, adopted by Europe at 14.6 %, and Asia and the Pacific at 14.5 %, indicating the area’s rising attraction past intra-regional tourism and the expansion of demand from long-term markets.
Intra-GCC tourism represented 41.3 % of whole worldwide vacationers, with a median annual development charge of 51.2 % in the course of the interval 2019–2024, reflecting the success of Gulf tourism integration initiatives, facilitating motion, and selling joint occasions.
The elevated demand was mirrored within the growth of the sector’s infrastructure, as the entire variety of resort institutions within the GCC reached 11,200 institutions, comprising roughly 711,500 rooms. The variety of staff within the tourism sector additionally elevated to 1.7 million staff in 2024, with an annual development of 33 % in comparison with 2020, which confirms the social function of tourism in producing job alternatives and supporting financial stability.
The direct GDP of the journey and tourism sector was recorded at US$93.5 billion in 2024, reaching 64.1 % of the 2030 goal.
In the meantime, the sector’s contribution to the Gulf’s GDP rose to 4.3 %, reflecting the shift of tourism from a supporting sector to a key financial pillar inside diversification plans.
Sustainability indicators level to a rise within the common size of keep of vacationers to eight.4 nights, and a rise in common spending to US$674.6, with improved labor productiveness within the sector, in mild of reaching completion charges ranging between 56 % and 78 % of the targets of the Gulf Tourism Technique 2030, the place the area seems able to proceed rising, particularly with the deal with cultural, environmental, enterprise and convention tourism.
