Kuwait summer travel spending nears 1 billion dinars despite regional challenges
- More than 42.7 million transactions — The spending was spread across 42.7 million purchase and withdrawal transactions, averaging about 10.43 million dinars in outbound spending every day.
- Electronic payments dominated — POS and foreign website purchases totaled 885.3 million dinars, accounting for the overwhelming majority of spending, compared with 73.8 million dinars in ATM withdrawals.
- High-frequency daily spending — Travelers carried out approximately 464,300 transactions every day across POS, online and ATM channels, showing that summer spending was sustained across millions of transactions rather than concentrated in a small number of high-value purchases.
Despite the geopolitical situation in the region and challenges affecting air traffic during June, July and August 2026, outbound spending by Kuwaitis and residents remained strong, with total expenditure outside Kuwait approaching one billion dinars during the peak summer travel season.
According to official Central Bank of Kuwait data, spending outside Kuwait during the three summer months reached approximately 959.1 million dinars, generated through more than 42.7 million purchase and withdrawal transactions. The figures underline the scale of travel-related consumer activity and its significance for outbound spending during the summer period, with average daily spending outside Kuwait reaching approximately 10.43 million dinars, indicating that more than 10 million dinars flowed out of the country each day through in-person purchases, online transactions and cash withdrawals.
The spending data also show that travelers used multiple payment channels rather than relying on cash alone. Direct purchases at points of sale abroad accounted for the largest share, followed by purchases through foreign websites, while ATM withdrawals represented a smaller portion of total spending.
Points-of-sale transactions reached approximately 490.3 million dinars during the three-month period through around 25.834 million transactions. This translated into average daily spending of approximately 5.33 million dinars, with the average transaction valued at about 18.98 dinars. Cash withdrawals abroad totaled approximately 73.8 million dinars through nearly 995,700 transactions.
Average daily cash withdrawals stood at around 802,000 dinars, while the average withdrawal was approximately 74.12 dinars. Despite remaining an important payment channel, cash accounted for a relatively small share of total outbound spending compared with electronic payments. Online purchases through foreign websites also represented a major component of external spending, reaching approximately 395 million dinars during June, July and August through around 15.885 million transactions.
Average daily online spending stood at approximately 4.29 million dinars, with the average transaction reaching about 24.86 dinars. Together, points-of-sale purchases and online transactions accounted for approximately 885.3 million dinars, or the overwhelming majority of the total 959.1 million dinars spent outside Kuwait during the summer. Cash withdrawals, by comparison, amounted to 73.8 million dinars, highlighting the growing role of electronic payments in outbound consumer spending.
The transaction volumes also point to sustained daily economic activity rather than spending being concentrated in a limited number of high-value purchases. Points-of-sale transactions alone averaged approximately 281,000 transactions per day over the 92-day period. Online purchases averaged around 172,700 transactions daily, while ATM withdrawals averaged nearly 10,800 transactions per day.
Across all payment channels, the average number of transactions carried out outside Kuwait reached approximately 464,300 per day during the summer months. The figures illustrate the scale and continuity of outbound spending by Kuwaitis and residents during the holiday season, despite the regional environment and constraints affecting air traffic.
