GCC countries received 68.1 million tourists, generated $110.4 billion in 2023

 The data issued by the Statistical Centre for the Cooperation Council for the Arab Countries of the Gulf (GCC-Stat) in December 2024 revealed that about 68.1 million international tourists visited the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries by the end of 2023, with an increase rate of 42.8 per cent compared to the figures recorded in 2019.

The data mentioned in the "Travel and Tourism in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries” newsletter issued by the Centre indicate that the GCC countries have achieved 52.9 per cent of the first strategic objective mentioned in the joint tourism strategy (2023-2030), related to gradually increasing the number of incoming trips to reach 128.7 million tourists.

The total international tourism revenues in the GCC countries increased by 28.2 per cent by the end of 2023 compared to the figures of 2019, reaching $110.4 billion. This contributed to achieving 58.7 per cent of the second strategic goal, which is to gradually increase international tourist spending to reach $188 billion .
The data of the GCC-Stat disclose that the percentage of intra-GCC tourism of total international tourists logged 26.9 per cent, with a growth rate of 44.2 per cent compared to the figures recorded in 2019.

The Asia-Pacific region accounted for the largest share of tourist export markets to the GCC countries by 38 per cent, followed by the Middle East with 25.1 per cent, Europe with 22.9 per cent, Africa with 8.8 percent, and the Americas with 4.3 per cent.

Tourism indicators are positively reflected on the sector in the GCC countries in terms of infrastructure. The data issued by the Centre indicate that 10,893 hotel establishments were recorded in the GCC countries in 2023, including 697 rooms. They also reveal that 5 of the GCC countries exceeded the regional average in air transport infrastructure.

The travel and tourism sector contributed 10.8 per cent to the Gulf GDP, with an annual growth rate of 29.4 per cent compared to the figures logged in the previous year. The added value of the sector reached about $223.4 billion by the end of 2023.

The total number of workers in the tourism sector in the GCC countries reached about 1.5 million persons by the end of 2023, with a growth rate of 17 percent compared to 2019. The added value of the travel and tourism sector in employment amounted to $4.04 billion, with an annual growth rate of 15.5 per cent for the years 2022 and 2023. The GCC countries exceeded the regional indicator for human resources and the labor market in the Global Travel and Tourism Development Index 2024.

Women accounted for 12.4 per cent of workers in the tourism sector in the GCC countries, achieving an annual growth rate of 27.5 per cent compared to the figures recorded in 2020. This highlights the efforts exerted to empower women in this vital sector.

The tourism sector enhances environmental sustainability in the GCC countries. The percentage of natural reserves out of the total area of the GCC countries increased to 15.1 per cent in 2023, with an annual growth rate of 39 per cent during the period from 2017 to 2023.

Separately, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Foreign Trade Report for 2023, issued by the Statistical Centre for the Cooperation Council for the Arab Countries of the Gulf (GCC-Stat), highlighted the region’s significant position in global trade.

The GCC ranked sixth globally in the volume of trade in goods index, accounting for 3.4 percent of the total global trade in goods. The region’s trade volume reached $1.5 trillion in 2023, reflecting a 4.0 per cent decrease compared to 2022.
The GCC also ranked third globally in the merchandise trade balance index in 2023, with a value of $163.7 billion, compared to $381.3 billion recorded in 2022, which marked a decrease of 57.1 per cent.

In commodity exports, the GCC ranked fifth worldwide, contributing 3.1 percent of the global total with exports valued at $0.8 trillion in 2023, down 14.5 per cent from 2022. Conversely, the region ranked ninth in total merchandise imports, accounting for 2.7 per cent of global imports at a value of $0.7 trillion in 2023, reflecting a 13.4 per cent increase from the previous year.

The report further detailed that GCC trade in goods (excluding intra-trade) decreased by 4.0 per cent, amounting to $1,482.4 billion in 2023, compared to $1,482.4 billion in 2023.

Commodity exports fell from $962.6 billion in 2022 to $823.1 billion in 2023—a decline of $139.5 billion or 14.5 percent. However, commodity imports rose to $659.3 billion in 2023, up from $581.3 billion in 2022, an increase of $78.0 billion or 13.4 percent.

Oil exports of the GCC countries decreased by 20.5 percent in 2023 to reach $525.5 billion, compared to $661.1 billion in 2022.

As for the main trading partners, the GCC-Stat explained that China ranked first on the list of main trading partners in the commodity trade volume index in 2023. The value of the commodity trade volume amounted to $297.9 billion, surpassing its closest competitor, India, which ranked second with a value of $150.4 billion, with a difference of $147.6 billion.

China is also the GCC Countries’ most important trading partner. It ranked first in terms of the commodity exports index by importing 19.2 percent of the total Gulf commodity exports to global markets in 2023, at a value of $158.3 billion compared to $190.4 billion in 2022, with a decrease of 16.8 per cent.

China also ranked first among the GCC countries’ main trading partners in the 2023 Total Merchandise Imports Index. It exported 21.2 per cent of the GCC’s total merchandise imports in 2023, with a value of $139.6 billion compared to $126.0 billion in 2022, recording an increase of 10.8 per cent over the previous year.

WAM