The direct and indirect economic value of tourism in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries rose to about $254.7 billion in 2025, according to a new report from the GCC Statistical Centre.
The sector has now covered an average of 73.8 percent of the ground needed to meet the targets of the Gulf Tourism Strategy 2022 to 2030.
The report, titled Strategic Tourism Ambition in the GCC Countries, examines how well the sector can withstand geopolitical tensions, its recovery pathways and its economic outlook through 2035. Tourism-related jobs in the region reached roughly 4.5 million, while the global figures stood at $11.7 trillion in economic value and around 371 million jobs. The contribution of tourism to GDP and employment, along with its growth rates, remained competitive against global averages.
Progress is measured against six objectives: inbound trips, direct travel and tourism GDP, inbound tourist spending, the sector's share of GDP, domestic tourist spending and direct employment. By 2030, the strategy aims to draw 128.7 million visitors, lift direct travel and tourism GDP to $145.8 billion, grow inbound spending to $188 billion, raise the sector's direct share of GDP to 6.5 percent, increase domestic spending to $49 billion and create about 2.9 million direct jobs.
Inbound visitor numbers reached 89.9 million in 2025, or 69.9 percent of the 2030 target. That marked growth of 3.1 percent on 2024, while average annual growth between 2019 and 2025 was about 29.4 percent, a figure shaped by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Inbound tourist spending rose 9.7 percent in a year to $131.9 billion, which is 70.2 percent of the target, with average annual growth of 17.5 percent over the same period.
Domestic tourism is closest to its goal. Spending reached $42.9 billion in 2025, or 87.6 percent of the 2030 target, after growing 6.2 percent year on year and averaging 20.3 percent annually since 2019.
Direct travel and tourism GDP climbed 8.8 percent to $101.7 billion, equal to 69.8 percent of the target, with average annual growth of 15.9 percent over the 2019 to 2025 period. The sector's contribution to overall GDP rose to 4.6 percent, which is 70.8 percent of the 6.5 percent goal. That share grew 7 percent from 2024, with average annual growth of about 7.2 percent since 2019.
In the labour market, direct employment reached 2.2 million jobs, or 74.7 percent of the target of roughly 2.9 million. Jobs grew 5.6 percent between 2024 and 2025, and the average annual rate since 2019 was 4.9 percent.
These results have strengthened the region's standing in global tourism. The GCC accounted for 5 percent of total international tourism in 2025 and 6.9 percent of global tourism receipts, pointing to a growing presence in the market.
Ease of travel also stands out. According to the Henley Passport Index 2026, GCC countries hold the top six positions among Arab countries for passport strength. As of July 16, 2026, GCC passports have improved their rankings by between 6 and 36 places compared with 2016.
News Source: Emirates News Agency
