Gulf tourism hits $254.7 billion as visitors climb to 89.9 million

Summary

• Tourism's direct and indirect value across the GCC reached about $254.7 billion in 2025, official Gulf data show.
• Inbound visitors rose 3.1% to 89.9 million, roughly 69.9% of the bloc's 2030 target.
• The six states are now about three-quarters of the way through their 2022-2030 tourism strategy goals.

The latest

Tourism now generates close to $254.7 billion a year in direct and indirect economic value across the six Gulf states, according to a new report from the GCC Statistical Centre covering 2025. The same report puts the global figure at $11.7 trillion and counts about 4.5 million tourism-linked jobs in the bloc, out of roughly 371 million worldwide.

Details

• The headline number: The GCC Statistical Centre's strategic tourism ambition report values the sector's combined direct and indirect contribution across the six member states at roughly $254.7 billion for 2025. That is measured against $11.7 trillion globally, leaving the Gulf with a little over 2% of the world total by that metric.
• Visitor flows: Inbound arrivals reached 89.9 million in 2025, a 3.1% increase on 2024, according to the report. That puts the bloc at 69.9% of its 2030 goal of 128.7 million visitors, meaning roughly 38.8 million more arrivals must be added over the next five years to hit the target.
• Spending: Total spending by inbound tourists rose 9.7% to $131.9 billion in 2025, the report said, or 70.2% of the $188 billion targeted for 2030. Domestic tourist spending reached $42.9 billion, growing 6.2% — a slower pace than the foreign-visitor figure.
• Direct GDP: Travel and tourism's direct contribution to GCC gross domestic product was $101.7 billion in 2025, up 8.8% year on year, according to the report. That represents 69.8% of the $145.8 billion targeted by 2030, with the sector's share of overall GDP rising to 4.6%.
• Employment: Direct jobs in the sector totalled 2.2 million in 2025, a 5.6% rise, the report said, reaching 74.7% of the 2.9 million target set for 2030. Counting indirect employment, tourism-linked jobs across the bloc come to about 4.5 million.
• Strategy progress: Average progress across the six strategic objectives of the Gulf Tourism Strategy 2022-2030 stood at about 73.8% as of 2025, according to the GCC Statistical Centre. The report does not break down which of the six objectives are lagging.
• Global share: The GCC accounted for 5% of total international tourism in 2025 and 6.9% of global tourism revenues, the report said. The gap between those two figures points to higher average spending per visitor in the Gulf than the world average.
• Mobility ranking: The six Gulf states hold the top six Arab positions for passport strength, according to the Henley Passport Index 2026 cited in the report — a travel-access measure the centre folded into its assessment of the region's tourism competitiveness.
• Also: GCC Statistical Centre

Background

The Gulf Tourism Strategy 2022-2030 sets six shared objectives for the six member states, with quantified 2030 targets for arrivals, spending, direct GDP contribution and employment. The GCC Statistical Centre, based in Muscat, tracks progress against them.

Between the lines

The bloc is running ahead of a straight-line pace on jobs, at 74.7% of target, while arrivals lag at 69.9%. Spending is growing faster than visitor numbers — 9.7% against 3.1% — which suggests the revenue targets may be met before the headcount ones. Closing the arrivals gap requires adding nearly 39 million visitors in five years.

What's next

Watch whether the 2026 edition of the report shows inbound arrival growth accelerating past 3.1%, the rate needed to close the 128.7 million visitor target, and whether domestic spending growth keeps trailing foreign spending.

Source: Emirates News Agency (WAM), citing the GCC Statistical Centre