Hassan Al -Sitry
The announcement by the Secretary -General of the Gulf Cooperation Council states, Jassem Al -Badawi, about the start of coordination and work on the first phase of the one -point project between the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Bahrain, a great satisfaction with the travel and tourism offices, stressing that the project is active in the tourism movement between the GCC countries, and is looking forward to this between all the countries of the Council.
The “one point” allows travelers to finish all travel procedures from one point without repeated traffic on the audit outlets, with the receipt of the bags immediately after arrival, and according to Al -Badawi, the application will be bilaterally circulated between the rest of the GCC states.
The head of the Travel and Tourism Office Association, Jihad Amin said: “The decision facilitates the process of travel significantly, especially when we talk about the transition between the countries of the Cooperation Council, and we have always aspired to the open borders, so we see that it is a positive step in the right track to facilitate travel between the countries of the Cooperation Council, and we look forward to starting the experimental process, and we are confident that it will prove its effectiveness, and it is applied between all the countries of the Cooperation Council,” indicating that global organizations that establish travel destinations You will look at this in a positive way that is reflected in the assessments.
Regarding the reasons for the selection of Bahrain and the Emirates as a start, Amin said: “The reasons may be technical, and we all know that relations are fraternal and inherent at all levels, including security cooperation, and the volume of travel between Bahrain and the Emirates is large, not only at the level of Gulf nationalities, but even at the level of different nationalities, so we look forward to this be the nucleus of a unified visa, and this will contribute to the growth of tourism in a large way.”
The project provides travelers with a more comfortable and smooth travel experience, reduces waiting time in airports, and will also contribute to enhancing the movement of tourism and business, and supporting the position of Bahrain International Airport as an advanced regional center.
According to Amin, the “one point” will reflect positively on the Gulf economy, especially with the increase in the movement of travelers between the GCC states, which makes the project an essential pillar to enhance regional linking and develop logistical services, indicating that this step will shorten me at least half the time.
The project is based on a simple but effective principle, which is to end all procedures from the departure airport – whether passports, customs or security – so that the traveler reaches his final destination as if he is on an internal trip, to receive his bags directly without any additional stop.
The one -point project is an idea applied in leading countries, such as the Prevalarance System between the United States and Canada, where the American traveler from Canada passes its procedures at the departure airport, Faisal to New York or Washington as if it is coming from an internal flight, and Europe has applied a different model through the Schengen Agreement, which allows the freedom of movement between more than 26 countries without stamping one passport, and this makes one point a Gulf project and promised to The same path.
