Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are already heavily invested in the development of the Metaverse, and the tech startups are playing a pivotal role in its construction. According to a recent report compiled by Strategy& Middle East, that investment will likely pay off to the tune of a cool $15 billion in annual revenue by 2030.

“The projections assessed growth in the component technologies, platforms, hardware, and software, as well as the economic contribution of new metaverse applications such as content creation, shopping, and so on,” says Tony G. Karam, partner at Strategy& Middle East.

Out of the seven Emirates, Dubai is emerging as the pre-eminent metaverse economy. Experts predict that the region’s digital strategy will bring a $4 billion boost to GDP, with 40,000 new jobs created in the process. The UAE as a whole has embraced Web3.0 enthusiastically and recently established the first metaverse incubator.

Meanwhile, in Saudi Arabia, NEOM — a $500 billion futuristic metropolis on the Red Sea — will also build a parallel digital version of its cityscape, enabling people to coexist in both the real world and the Metaverse simultaneously.

Also Read: The UAE Has Launched A Program To Assist 100 Startups

“The Metaverse holds a world of possibilities that extends beyond next-generation gaming and internet-based home buying or shopping. It will change how we work, transact, plan, design, build, shop, recreate, travel, and live. In a regional context, the Metaverse’s potential to energize and transform key sectors in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries is enormous,” says Dany Karam, partner at Strategy& Middle East.

Breaking down Strategy&’s predicted annual raise in GDP reveals the following figures:

• Saudi Arabia: $7.6 billion
• UAE: $3.3 billion
• Qatar: $1.6 billion
• Kuwait: $ 1 billion
• Oman: $0.8 billion
• Bahrain: $0.4 billion

Although the Metaverse is still relatively unknown to the general public, experts believe that in the near future, a thriving digital tourism sector will emerge, with tours to famous UNESCO World Heritage Sites, concerts, festivals and sports events all having their own digital versions.