GCC Statistical Centre: Gulf Tourism Worth USD 254.7 Billion, Supports 4.5 Million Jobs

A report on the strategic tourism ambition of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, issued by the GCC Statistical Centre, indicated that the direct and indirect economic value of tourism in the GCC rose to approximately USD 254.7 billion in 2025, compared with USD 11.7 trillion globally. The number of tourism-related jobs in the GCC reached approximately 4.5 million, compared with around 371 million worldwide, while tourism’s contribution to GDP, employment and sector growth rates in the GCC stood at competitive levels compared with global averages.

The report, which examines the sector’s ability to withstand geopolitical tensions, recovery pathways and the economic outlook through 2035, showed that the GCC tourism sector made tangible progress towards the targets of the Gulf Tourism Strategy 2022-2030. Average progress across the six strategic objectives reached approximately 73.8% by 2025, driven by continued growth in visitor numbers and tourism spending, the sector’s increasing contribution to GDP and growth in direct employment opportunities.

The report measures progress across six principal objectives of the Gulf Tourism Strategy: increasing inbound arrivals, raising the direct GDP of the travel and tourism sector, increasing inbound tourist spending, raising the sector’s share of GDP, increasing domestic tourist spending and expanding direct employment.

By 2030, the strategy aims to attract 128.7 million visitors, raise the direct GDP of the travel and tourism sector to USD 145.8 billion, increase inbound tourist spending to USD 188 billion, raise the sector’s direct contribution to GDP to 6.5%, increase domestic tourist spending to USD 49 billion and bring the number of direct jobs to approximately 2.9 million.

For inbound visitor numbers, the total reached 89.9 million in 2025, representing 69.9% of the 2030 target of 128.7 million visitors. The number grew by 3.1% between 2024 and 2025, while average annual growth during the 2019-2025 period reached approximately 29.4%, taking into account the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the indicator’s trajectory.

Inbound tourist spending rose to USD 131.9 billion in 2025, achieving 70.2% of the 2030 target of USD 188 billion. It recorded growth of 9.7% in one year and average annual growth of 17.5% during the 2019-2025 period.

For domestic tourism, spending by domestic tourists reached USD 42.9 billion in 2025, achieving 87.6% of the 2030 target of USD 49 billion. It grew by 6.2% between 2024 and 2025, while average annual growth during the 2019-2025 period reached approximately 20.3%.

The direct GDP of the travel and tourism sector in the GCC countries reached USD 101.7 billion in 2025, achieving 69.8% of the 2030 target of USD 145.8 billion. It recorded annual growth of 8.8% between 2024 and 2025 and average annual growth of 15.9% during the 2019-2025 period.

The travel and tourism sector’s contribution to the GCC countries’ GDP also rose to 4.6% in 2025, achieving 70.8% of the 2030 target of 6.5%. The contribution grew by 7% between 2024 and 2025, while average annual growth during the 2019-2025 period reached approximately 7.2%.

In the labour market, total direct employment in the travel and tourism sector reached 2.2 million jobs in 2025, achieving 74.7% of the 2030 target of approximately 2.9 million jobs. Direct employment grew by 5.6% between 2024 and 2025, with average annual growth of 4.9% during the 2019-2025 period.

These indicators strengthened the international standing of the GCC tourism sector. The GCC countries accounted for 5% of total international tourism in 2025 and 6.9% of global tourism revenues, reflecting the region’s expanding presence in the global tourism market and the sector’s growing economic impact.

On international mobility, the report indicated that the GCC countries occupy the top six positions in the Arab world for passport strength, according to the Henley Passport Index 2026. Compared with 2016, the cumulative improvement in the rankings of GCC passports ranged from six to 36 places as of July 16, 2026.

Source: QNA

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