Gulf airports are rapidly evolving from transit points into gateways for multi-country adventures, as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, and Kuwait position themselves as a unified tourism corridor. Leveraging new stopover visas, upgraded airport experiences, and plans for a unified GCC tourist visa, the bloc is quietly building what industry executives describe as a collective tourism powerhouse that turns a long layover into a regional grand tour.
GCC Pushes to Become a Single, Connected Tourism Zone
The six Gulf Cooperation Council states have all declared tourism a strategic pillar of economic diversification, but in the past much of the region’s air traffic simply flowed through their hubs on the way to Europe, Asia, or Africa. Today, officials and airlines are working to capture far more of that traffic by encouraging travelers to break their journeys and sample multiple Gulf destinations on a single trip.
Central to this shift is the planned GCC Grand Tours Visa, a Schengen-style initiative that will allow eligible visitors to move between Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, and Kuwait using one unified tourist visa. Tourism strategists say the scheme, still being finalised, will effectively knit six distinct destinations into a single, flexible itinerary, making it easier for long-haul visitors to combine city breaks, desert adventures, beach resorts, and cultural stops across several countries.
Industry executives in the Gulf say the unified visa is expected to lift regional arrivals well beyond the estimated 70 to 75 million visitors the bloc welcomed in the last full year, as friction is removed from multi-stop trips. Travel agencies are already designing “GCC circuits” that package Dubai and Muscat with Riyadh, Doha, or Bahrain as part of week-long or ten-day itineraries, anticipating a surge of demand once the new permit is fully operational.
The visa plan dovetails with sweeping investments in airports, national carriers, and tourism infrastructure across the region. From Riyadh’s planned King Salman International Airport to Doha’s expanded Hamad International Airport and Dubai International’s ongoing upgrades, Gulf hubs are being engineered not just for efficient transfers but for enticing stopovers that encourage travelers to linger and explore.
Saudi Arabia Uses Free Stopover Visa to Feed Vision 2030 Goals
Saudi Arabia has moved aggressively to turn transit passengers into short-stay visitors via its 96-hour Stopover Visa, a free e-visa available to travelers flying on national carriers Saudia and Flynas. Introduced as part of the kingdom’s tourism push under Vision 2030, the permit allows passengers to enter Saudi Arabia for up to four days, with options to perform Umrah, visit Medina, attend events, or sample the kingdom’s growing roster of leisure and cultural attractions.
The stopover e-visa, which can be obtained during the online flight booking process, is designed to be fast and cheap to secure, typically issuing within hours and bundled with basic health coverage. In many cases, Saudia sweetens the deal with a complimentary hotel night for eligible passengers booking through its platform, reducing the cost barrier for travelers who might otherwise treat Riyadh or Jeddah as a simple connection point.
Saudi tourism planners see the program as a feeder funnel into longer future visits. By giving travelers a low-commitment way to “test drive” destinations such as Jeddah’s historic Al Balad, the mountain retreats of Al Baha and Asir, or the Red Sea coast, officials hope to convert a fraction of stopover guests into repeat tourists. Private-sector analysts say the 96-hour model also supports the country’s ambition to attract 100 million annual visits by 2030, both by boosting headline arrival numbers and by encouraging new origin markets to include Saudi Arabia in broader regional trips.
Saudi Arabia’s strategy is closely tied to its emerging aviation ambitions. The kingdom is investing in a new national carrier, Riyadh Air, and expanding airports in Riyadh, Jeddah, and the Red Sea coast. As those projects mature, the stopover visa gives Saudi Arabia a ready-made tool to compete with established hubs in Doha and Dubai for travelers looking to add an extra destination between continents.
Qatar’s Record-Breaking Stopover Programme Turns Doha into a Short-Break Hub
Qatar has been among the most visible early winners of the stopover trend. Discover Qatar, the destination management arm of Qatar Airways, recently reported that its stopover programme recorded more than 10,500 visitors in January 2025 alone, the highest monthly figure since the scheme was relaunched in 2021 and a sharp jump on the previous year. Officials say stopover arrivals between April 2024 and January 2025 grew by well over 100 percent compared with the same period a year earlier, with hotel room nights tied to stopovers more than doubling.
The programme offers tiered packages starting at budget-friendly rates for four and five star stays, including optional airport transfers, sightseeing tours, and themed experiences covering desert excursions, beach time, shopping, and dining. For travelers with transits of 12 to 96 hours, the model is simple: add a few nights in Doha to an existing Qatar Airways itinerary and explore attractions ranging from the Museum of Islamic Art and Msheireb Downtown to dune-bashing and dhow cruises.
Qatar’s stopover success is closely linked to the reach of Qatar Airways, which connects Doha to more than 170 destinations across Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. The airline’s loyalty members have embraced the programme, with a significant share of stopover bookings paid for or rewarded with Avios points, deepening customer engagement while stimulating local tourism demand.
Alongside the stopover push, Qatar has been refining its visa tools, including enhancements to its Hayya platform and multiple entry options for certain visitor categories. Together, these measures position Hamad International Airport as both a premier transfer hub and a launchpad for short urban breaks, reinforcing Doha’s status as a compact, high-quality destination that can be slotted neatly into multi-country GCC itineraries.
UAE and Dubai Double Down on Classic Stopover Strength
The United Arab Emirates, and Dubai in particular, has long been synonymous with the global stopover model, with Emirates and Etihad Airways marketing extended layovers as mini holidays for more than two decades. What is different now is that the UAE is increasingly presenting itself not just as a standalone city break, but as one anchor in a larger Gulf journey that includes neighboring states.
Emirates and Etihad continue to promote hotel-and-activity bundles for transit passengers, encouraging them to convert a connection into a two or three night stay in Dubai or Abu Dhabi. These offers typically combine reduced-rate accommodation with city tours, theme park access, desert safaris, or cultural experiences at landmarks such as the Louvre Abu Dhabi or Dubai’s Old Town. As with Qatar and Saudi Arabia, the goal is to entice travelers to sample the destination in the hope they return for longer holidays.
Tourism operators in the UAE say plans for the GCC Grand Tours Visa could significantly amplify this model, by allowing visitors who land in Dubai to add Muscat, Riyadh, Doha, or Manama to their trip without navigating multiple visa systems. Travel agencies are already preparing “Dubai plus Gulf” marketing campaigns aimed at families and long-haul visitors, positioning the UAE’s ultra-modern cities as the natural entry point, and neighboring states as complementary experiences offering different landscapes and cultural flavors.
The UAE’s continued investment in airport capacity and visitor experience underpins this push. Dubai International remains one of the world’s busiest hubs, while Abu Dhabi International is expanding its role as a premium transfer point. Tourism analysts say that as stopover competition intensifies across the Gulf, Dubai’s brand recognition and existing city-break appeal give it a strong base to defend and grow its share of multi-country trips.
Oman, Bahrain and Kuwait Seek a Larger Share of Multi-Country Itineraries
While Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar dominate headlines and passenger volumes, the smaller Gulf states of Oman, Bahrain, and Kuwait are also positioning their airports and visa policies to catch more stopover and multi-country traffic. Their pitch relies less on vast airline networks and more on differentiated experiences that complement the region’s megacities.
Oman has focused on promoting Muscat and Salalah as gateways to nature-centric tourism, with rugged mountains, wadis, and a long coastline offering a contrast to the high-rise skylines of Dubai or Doha. The national carrier, Oman Air, has previously marketed stopover and short-break products, and officials see the upcoming unified GCC visa as a chance to fold Muscat into more multi-country journeys that begin or end in neighboring hubs.
Bahrain, with its compact capital Manama and Formula One circuit, is pitching itself as an easy two or three day add-on for visitors already in the region. Tourism authorities say the planned GCC Grand Tours Visa could be transformative for smaller destinations, reducing the psychological and administrative barriers that currently discourage travelers from hopping across borders for short visits.
Kuwait, historically less tourism-focused than some of its neighbors, is also working to modernise its airport and visitor offering. Although it does not yet operate high-profile global stopover programmes on the scale of Qatar or the UAE, its inclusion in any unified visa regime will automatically place it on the map for travel designers assembling pan-Gulf itineraries. Observers note that even a modest increase in multi-country traffic could yield meaningful gains for local hospitality sectors in these markets.
Unified Visa Plans and Evolving Entry Rules Lower Barriers for Visitors
The push to turn Gulf airports into multi-country gateways is tightly linked to a flurry of visa reforms across the region. Saudi Arabia has broadened its e-visa and visa-on-arrival tools while promoting the 96-hour stopover scheme. Qatar has refined its Hayya digital platform and expanded multiple-entry options for certain visitor segments. The UAE has introduced a spectrum of tourist and transit visas designed to encourage longer stays and repeat visits.
The proposed GCC Grand Tours Visa represents the next step in that evolution. Once active, it will allow eligible non-GCC nationals to enter any of the six member states and move between them without reapplying for separate permits. Tourism professionals say the unified visa will be particularly attractive to travelers from long-haul markets such as Europe, North America, and East Asia, for whom the cost and effort of obtaining multiple visas has historically reduced interest in comprehensive Gulf itineraries.
For airport hubs, the unified visa could change passenger behavior in subtle but powerful ways. Instead of attempting to minimise layovers, travelers might purposefully engineer longer gaps between flights to schedule side trips to neighboring countries. Airlines and airports are already preparing bundled products and digital tools that will allow passengers to book flights, hotels, local transport, and excursions across several states in one transaction.
Analysts caution that successful implementation will depend on coordinating security, data-sharing, and immigration systems between the six countries, as well as clear communication of rules to both airlines and travelers. But if those hurdles are cleared, the visa could cement the GCC’s reputation as one of the easiest regions in the world for multi-country touring.
From Transit Lounge to Tourism Launchpad: Airports Recast Their Role
Behind the policy shifts lies a profound reimagining of what Gulf airports are for. Long known as high-efficiency transfer points with extensive retail and lounge offerings, leading hubs are now being refitted as the front door to national tourism brands. Design choices increasingly blur the line between airport and destination, featuring art installations, curated gastronomy, and cultural showcases intended to tempt travelers off their itineraries and into the city.
Hamad International Airport in Doha and Dubai International have both invested heavily in experiential retail, dining, and wellness facilities that reinforce their cities’ broader tourism narratives. Saudi Arabia’s planned King Salman International Airport in Riyadh is being conceived from the outset as a global hub supporting both business travel and leisure tourism, with capacity estimates that rival the largest hubs in Europe and Asia.
For tourism boards, airports are also vital marketing stages. Digital displays, augmented reality experiences, and concierge desks promote stopover packages and multi-country tours, while airline apps integrate offers for hotel stays, local tours, and visa assistance. The idea is to present the Gulf not just as a place to change planes, but as an accessible cluster of distinct experiences that can be explored in a single, seamless trip.
Industry observers say competition between Gulf hubs is sharpening as each state seeks to capture a greater share of value from the millions of passengers already flying through the region. As Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, and Kuwait deepen cooperation around unified visas and complementary tourism offerings, their airports are rapidly emerging as launchpads for one of the world’s most ambitious multi-country tourism experiments.