By 2030, Metaverse is anticipated to provide $15 billion yearly to GCC economies.

According to the most recent analysis by Strategy& Middle East, part of the PwC network, the potential contribution of the metaverse to GCC economies could reach approximately $15 billion annually by 2030, of which $7.6 billion would be in Saudi Arabia and $3.3 billion in the UAE.

The metaverse is still evolving, but the rate of change is rapid. Organizations in the GCC should move immediately and seize the chance.

Tony G. Karam, Partner at Strategy& Middle East, stated, "By 2030, we anticipate that the metaverse would annually pump $15 billion into GCC economies. The estimates evaluated the expansion of component technologies, platforms, hardware, and software, as well as the economic contribution of new metaverse applications such as content production, shopping, etc."

The metaverse is beautiful because it is neither a place nor a technology. Rather, it is the most recent stage in the evolving human-computer interface, which aims to provide a seamless, pervasive, immersive, touchable, simulated experience that is so realistic as to rival reality. You can visit a virtual construction site, for instance, to observe how structures will appear before a single shovel is used.

Dubai began its metaverse plan explicitly in July 2022, with the goal of becoming a dominant metaverse economy. The initiative aims to add $4 billion to the economy over the next five years and create 40,000 new employment. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has launched the first metaverse incubator in the Middle East to develop Web3 and metaverse applications.

NEOM, Saudi Arabia's $500 billion city on the Red Sea, leverages the metaverse to inform building and provide architects, engineers, and designers with a collaborative, customizable experience. In the form of an avatar or hologram, NEOM's digital subsidiary has constructed a metaverse that allows people to simultaneously exist in the city and the virtual world.

Dany Karam, Partner at Strategy& Middle East, remarked, "The metaverse is rife with opportunities that stretch far beyond next-generation gaming and internet-based house purchasing or shopping. It will alter how we work, transact, plan, design, construct, shop, travel, and enjoy leisure time. In a regional context, the metaverse has immense potential to invigorate and revolutionize important industries in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations."

The analysis highlights travel and tourism (estimated $3.2 billion) as the industry with the greatest potential to benefit economically from the metaverse.

"There might be metaverse tours of AIUla, Saudi Arabia's first UNESCO World Heritage Site, as well as fashion festivals, spas, wellness retreats, and entertainment and sports events," stated Jad N. Baroudi, Principal, Strategy& Middle East. Visits to the Metaverse would encourage physical travel. Later, travelers could revisit their experiences through the metaverse."

Saudi Arabia stands to gain the most from the metaverse ($7.6 billion), followed by the United Arab Emirates ($3.3 billion), Qatar ($1.6 billion), Kuwait ($1 billion), Oman ($0.8 billion), and Bahrain ($0.4 billion).

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