By 2030, the metaverse is expected to contribute $15 billion per year to GCC economies.

Strategy& Middle East, part of the PwC network, estimates that by 2030, the metaverse could add about US$15 billion annually to GCC economies, with Saudi Arabia seeing an increase of $7.6 billion and the United Arab Emirates seeing an increase of $3.3 billion.

In spite of the fact that the metaverse is still maturing, developments occur at a dizzying rate. To take advantage of this window of opportunity, GCC institutions should move swiftly.

Strategy& Middle East Partner Tony G. Karam predicted that by 2030 the metaverse would contribute $15 billion yearly to GCC economies. Evaluating the economic impact of new metaverse applications like content production, shopping, and so on, the forecasts accounted for growth in the underlying technologies, platforms, hardware, and software.

The metaverse is appealing because it may be thought of as neither a physical location nor a technological medium. Instead, it's the cutting edge of human-computer interaction, a way to create a simulation so lifelike it might be mistaken for the actual thing in terms of how it feels and looks and sounds and smells and tastes and sounds and smells and feels and looks and feels. It is now possible to visualize the finished product of a construction project before so much as a shovel is put to the ground.

Dubai's official metaverse strategy was unveiled in July 2022, and it aims to make the emirate a global leader in the metaverse economy. Over the following five years, the strategy aims to increase GDP by $4 billion and create 40,000 new employment. Middle East's first metaverse incubator 8 has been set up in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with the goal of fostering the creation of prototypes for virtual worlds and Web 3.0 technologies.

The Saudi megacity NEOM on the Red Sea is estimated to cost $500 billion, and it is using the metaverse to guide its construction and create a collaborative and customizable experience for architects, engineers, designers, and others. The digital arm of NEOM has developed a metaverse that enables users to take on the shape of an avatar or hologram and travel between the physical world and the online virtual world.

When asked about the potential applications of virtual reality, Dany Karam, Partner, Strategy& Middle East, remarked, "The metaverse presents a universe of possibilities that stretches beyond next-generation gaming and internet-based home buying or shopping. As a result, our methods of production, commerce, planning, design, construction, shopping, recreation, transportation, and daily life will all need to be rethought. The metaverse has tremendous potential to revitalize and alter important sectors in the countries that make up the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

According to the analysis, the travel and tourism industry stands to gain the most from the metaverse, to the tune of $3.2 billion.

In the words of Jad N. Baroudi, Principal, Strategy& Middle East: "There may be metaverse tours of AIUla, Saudi Arabia's first UNESCO World Heritage Site, or of fashion festivals, spas, wellness retreats, entertainment and sports events. It's likely that going to the Metaverse would make you want to see the world in person. They may use the metaverse to revisit their destinations and relive their adventures at a later time.

Of all the countries, Saudi Arabia stands to gain the most from the metaverse, to the tune of $7.6 billion (about $US3.3 billion), followed by the UAE (US$3.3 billion), Qatar (US$1.6 billion), Kuwait (US$1 billion), Oman (US$0.8 billion), and Bahrain (US$0.4 billion).