Kuwaitis’ spending on tourism and travel abroad increased by 12.4% during the first nine months of the current year, reaching around 390 million dinars, according to official data seen by Al-Anbaa. This brings their total spending to 3.53 billion dinars from January to September 2023, compared to 3.14 billion dinars during the same period last year, reported Al-Anba Daily.
The data, obtained from Kuwait’s Central Bank, reveals that Kuwaitis’ expenditure on tourism and travel experienced growth in the third quarter of the year, particularly during the summer months when travel activity is typically high. Total spending in the third quarter alone amounted to about 1.15 billion dinars, an increase compared to the second quarter’s one billion dinars.
In the first quarter, citizens’ total spending on travel reached approximately 1.3 billion dinars. On average, Kuwaitis spent around 392 million dinars per month on travel. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and the strict precautionary measures implemented by Kuwait, this year’s spending on tourism and travel by Kuwaitis is the highest in recent years.
The suspension of air traffic forced many citizens to stay in Kuwait, leading to pent-up demand for travel once restrictions eased. Conversely, remittances from expatriate workers abroad saw a significant decline of around 30% amounting to 1.26 billion dinars during the same January to September period.
Total remittances this year reached 2.97 billion dinars, compared to approximately 4.23 billion dinars during the same period in 2022. Expatriate transfers have continuously and noticeably decreased throughout the year. In the first quarter, transfers amounted to approximately 1.22 billion dinars before witnessing a 27% decline in the second quarter to 892.1 million dinars.
Although the pace of decline slowed in the third quarter, remittances still dropped to 867.7 million dinars. Quarterly declines in expatriate transfers indicate an average transfer of around 993 million dinars every three months in 2023, translating to a monthly average of 330 million dinars. In comparison, the average quarterly transfers in the previous fiscal year amounted to 1.4 billion dinars, with a monthly average of 470 million dinars.