Well over 20 million tourists travelled between Gulf Cooperation Council countries in 2025, underscoring the growing importance of intra-regional travel as the Gulf develops into a more integrated tourism market.
The number of tourists travelling between the six GCC states (Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain) increased 3.6% from 2024, according to the Statistical Centre for the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC-Stat).
The figures were released in a GCC-Stat bulletin titled “Gulf Tourism in the Era of Smart Transformation” to coincide with World Tourism Day. They come as Gulf governments continue to invest heavily in tourism infrastructure, hotels, airlines, attractions and major events as part of broader economic diversification strategies.
The overall scale of the region’s tourism industry is considerably larger. GCC countries received about 75.7 million inbound tourists in 2025, an increase of 4.9% from the previous year, according to GCC-Stat. Tourism revenues rose even faster, climbing 9.7% to about USD 131.9 billion.
The stronger growth in revenues compared with visitor numbers points to an increase in the economic value generated by each visitor.
Average revenue per inbound tourist reached approximately USD 1,743 in 2025, according to the statistical center.
The increase in intra-GCC tourism reflects the growing ease with which residents and visitors can move between Gulf destinations, while the expansion of attractions and hospitality capacity gives travellers more reasons to extend their trips across multiple countries.
The region’s governments are also seeking to develop tourism as an integrated economic sector rather than as a collection of individual national markets.
The GCC Secretariat said recently that infrastructure, security, regulatory frameworks and coordination between member states had helped sustain tourism flows and connectivity.
It said intra-GCC tourism had exceeded 20 million travellers in 2025, while the travel’s direct and indirect contribution to GCC economies reached about USD 254 billion, equivalent to 11.4% of the combined GDP.
The growth comes against a backdrop of major tourism investment across the region. Saudi Arabia is developing large-scale destinations under its “Vision 2030” programme, while the UAE continues to expand Dubai’s and Abu Dhabi’s tourism and hospitality offerings.
Qatar has sought to build on the international exposure generated by the 2022 World Cup, while Oman is developing new tourism and hospitality projects.
For airlines and hotel operators, greater movement within the Gulf provides an expanding pool of regional customers alongside international visitors.
Hotel capacity is also increasing. GCC countries had about 12,400 hotel establishments in 2025, up 4.8% from 2024, according to GCC-Stat.
The next phase of growth is expected to be increasingly technology-driven.
GCC-Stat said digital infrastructure, data and artificial intelligence (AI) are becoming important tools for understanding tourist preferences, forecasting demand, personalising services and managing destinations more efficiently.
All six GCC countries scored at least 60 points on the centre’s Mobile App Development Index, highlighting the region’s digital readiness and the potential to build more integrated tourism applications.
The centre has also highlighted the potential for shared digital platforms connecting bookings, transport and events across the GCC. Such integration could make it easier for visitors to combine destinations within a single Gulf trip and allow tourism operators to capture a larger share of visitor spending.
The longer-term economic ambitions are substantial. GCC-Stat estimates that tourism’s contribution to the region’s GDP could reach about USD 365.7 billion by 2035, while the sector could support approximately 5.8 million jobs.
The figures suggest that the Gulf’s tourism story is no longer based solely on attracting international visitors from Europe, Asia and other regions. A significant part of the industry’s expansion is coming from travellers within the region.
With more than 20 million intra-GCC tourism journeys already recorded in 2025, regional mobility is becoming an increasingly important component of the Gulf’s broader effort to build a diversified, interconnected tourism economy.