Muscat: The value added of the travel and tourism sector to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states' GDP rose to USD 247.1 billion by the end of 2024, the Statistical Centre for GCC states (GCC-Stat) has revealed in a statistical report.
It explained that this marks an increase of 31.9 percent compared to 2019, noting that the sector's contribution to the GCC's overall GDP is projected to reach 13.3 percent, amounting to USD 371.2 billion, by 2034.
The data underscored the pivotal and growing role of the tourism sector as a driver of comprehensive development in the GCC states, encompassing the economic, social, and environmental dimensions.
According to figures published in the GCC-Stat report titled: Tourism in the GCC, A Gateway to Development and Sustainable Transformation released on the occasion of World Tourism Day, observed annually on Sept. 27, the tourism sector stands out as one of the principal engines for generating direct and indirect employment.
The sector's added value in employment reached USD 4.3 billion in 2024, registering growth of 24.9 percent compared to 2019, while the travel and tourism sector is expected to create around 1.3 million new jobs by 2034.
The travel and tourism sector constitutes a platform for empowerment through the enhancement of youth and women's engagement, with women representing 13 percent of the total workforce in the sector, registering growth of 73.2 percent
compared to 2019, the report highlighted.
It added that the GCC states have witnessed positive developments in environmental tourism sustainability through their commitment to preserving natural resources and promoting the concept of sustainable tourism. The proportion of protected areas (terrestrial and marine) amounted to 19 percent of the total landmass of the GCC states, according to the latest 2023 data, an increase of 7.5 percent compared to 2022.
The data also point to the role of the travel and tourism sector in enhancing intra-GCC integration, as the intra-GCC tourism index recorded growth of 52.1 percent in 2024 compared to 2019. The number of tourists traveling across GCC states reached 19.3 million, accounting for 26.7 percent of total international tourists.
