By 2030, the GCC economies are expected to receive $15 billion annually from the metaverse.

According to the most recent report from Strategy& Middle East, a member of the PwC network, the potential contribution of the metaverse to the GCC economies may be roughly US$15 billion yearly by 2030, of which $7.6 billion would be in Saudi Arabia and $3.3 billion in the UAE.

The metaverse is still in its early stages, yet change is happening quickly. Companies in the GCC should move right away to take advantage of this chance.

According to Tony G. Karam, Partner at Strategy & Middle East, by 2030, the metaverse will contribute $15 billion yearly to the economies of the GCC. The forecasts evaluated new metaverse applications like content production, commerce, and other activities as well as growth in the underlying platforms, hardware, and software.

The metaverse's charm lies in the fact that it is neither a location nor a tool. Instead, it represents the most recent development in human/computer interface technology, one that aims to produce a seamless, pervasive, immersive, touchable, and virtual experience that is so lifelike as to be on par with the actual thing. For instance, you can visit a virtual construction site and view how structures will appear even before a shovel touches the ground.

Dubai formally unveiled its metaverse strategy in July 2022 with the goal of creating a preeminent metaverse economy. Over the next five years, the initiative is expected to boost the economy by $4 billion and generate 40,000 new employment. To create early-stage metaverse and Web3 apps, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) established the region's first metaverse incubator.

NEOM, a $500 billion city in Saudi Arabia on the Red Sea, employs the metaverse to guide building and give architects, engineers, designers, and others a collaborative and customizable experience. In the form of an avatar or hologram, the digital division of NEOM has developed a metaverse that enables people to exist in both the real world and the virtual one at the same time.

"The metaverse promises a world of possibilities that stretches beyond next-generation gaming and internet-based home buying or shopping," said Dany Karam, Partner, Strategy & Middle East. It will alter the way we work, do business, plan, design, construct, shop, enjoy ourselves, travel, and live. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations' core sectors stand to benefit greatly from the metaverse in a regional context.

The analysis names the travel and tourist industry as having the largest potential for economic benefit from the metaverse, with a potential gain of US$3.2 billion.

"There may be metaverse tours of AIUla, Saudi Arabia's first UNESCO World Heritage Site, or of fashion shows, spas, wellness retreats, entertainment and sporting events," stated Jad N. Baroudi, Principal, Strategy & Middle East. Visits to the metaverse would encourage physical travel. Through the metaverse, visitors might go back and enjoy their adventures later.

Saudi Arabia will benefit the most from the metaverse of all the nations (7.6 billion US dollars), followed by the UAE (3.3 billion US dollars), Qatar (1.6 billion US dollars), Kuwait (one billion US dollars), Oman (0.8 billion US dollars), and Bahrain (0.4 billion US dollars).