The latest data released by the Statistical Centre for the Cooperation Council for the Arab Countries of the Gulf (“GCC-Stat”) indicate that the travel and tourism sector’s contribution to the Gulf’s GDP by the end of 2024 reached approximately 11.4%, with a value of US$247.1 billion. The data also demonstrates that the growth rate of the sector’s contribution to the Gulf’s GDP increased by approximately 31.9% compared to the figures recorded in 2019.
The Centre reveals that the sector’s contribution to the global GDP in 2024 amounted to 2.2%. It also suggests that the sector’s contribution to the Gulf’s GDP is expected to reach 13.3% in 2034 insomuch as $371.2 billion. The average annual growth rate of the sector’s contribution during the period from 2024 to 2034 is expected to exceed 4.2%.
On the other hand, statistics indicate that the average annual growth rate in the number of tourists traveling between GCC countries during the period from 2019 to 2023 reached 41.5%, which accounted for 26.5% of the total international tourists arriving in GCC countries in 2023.
