Travel and tourism sector contributes 11.4% to GCC’s GDP

Muscat: The latest data released by the GCC Statistical Centre (GCC-Stat) indicate that the travel and tourism sector's contribution to the GCC's gross domestic product (GDP) by the end of 2024 reached approximately 11.4%, with a value of OMR95 billion (USD 247.1 billion). The data also demonstrates that the growth rate of the sector's contribution to the GCC's GDP increased by approximately 31.9% compared to the figures recorded in 2019.

The Centre revealed that the sector's contribution to the global GDP in 2024 amounted to 2.2%. It also pointed out that the sector's contribution to the GCC's GDP is expected to reach 13.3% in 2034 insomuch as RO 142.8 billion (USD 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.