Kuwait

The International Passenger Survey (IPS) was suspended on 16 March 2020 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic until the start of 2021. The ONS have made every effort to produce high-quality estimates for the periods when IPS data is not being collected but have not been able to produce a full set of results. See the 2020 inbound page for more information. Data for 2021 and 2022 was also impacted by COVID-19, more information can be found on the About IPS page.

Due to the above, the latest full year IPS data below is from 2019. You can access data detailed data from 2020 onwards on the latest annual page.

Global context


Measure	2019
International tourism expenditure (US$bn)	15.8
Global rank for international tourism expenditure	23
Number of outbound visits (m)	4.4
Most visited destination	Saudi Arabia
Most visited destination in Western Europe	United Kingdom

Key demographic and economic data


Measure	2023
Population (m)	4.3
GDP per capita PPP (US$)	42,657
Annual average GDP growth over past decade (%)	0.3
Annual GDP growth (%)	1.6

GCC Market Profile (PDF, 73MB)

Kuwait Market Snapshot (PDF, 405KB)

Kuwait Aviation Profile (PDF, 177KB)

Inbound visits to Britain from Kuwait

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Touch the data points to see the values.

OVERVIEW OF UK VISITOR STATISTICS {{activeYear.name}}

Number of visits

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Total expenditure (GBP)

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Total nights spent

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Average length of stay (Nights)

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Average spend per visit (GBP)

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	Visits	% total	Visits	% total
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	Visits	% total	Nights	% total	Visits	% total	Nights	% total
{{item}}	{{journeyBox.visits.data[1].data[index] \| fixUnits(2)}}	{{journeyBox.visits.data[1].totalPerc[index]}} %	{{journeyBox.nights.data[1].data[index] \| fixUnits(2)}}	{{journeyBox.nights.data[1].totalPerc[index]}} %	{{journeyBox.visits.data[0].data[index] \| fixUnits(2, 'showDigits')}}	{{journeyBox.visits.data[0].totalPerc[index]}} %	{{journeyBox.nights.data[0].data[index] \| fixUnits(2, 'showDigits')}}	{{journeyBox.nights.data[0].totalPerc[index]}} %

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	Visits	% total	Visits	% total
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Access to Britain from Kuwait


Measure	2023
Weekly aircraft departures	22
Weekly seat capacity	6,239
Airports with direct routes in Kuwait	1
Airports with direct routes in Britain	2

Since 2009, seat capacity from Kuwait has increased by 65%.
In 2023, the highest share of departing seats came from the Kuwait airport to London Heathrow route, with a 90% share.
Out of all the airlines operating the Kuwait to Britain route in 2023, Kuwait Airways serves the most departing seats with a 74% share.
Flights from Kuwait airport now serve London Heathrow and Manchester International.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic led to a 55% reduction in direct seat capacity from Kuwait to the UK in 2020.
2021 was 70% behind pre-COVID levels, and 2022 was 14% behind pre-COVID levels.
In 2023, direct seat capacity is set to exceed pre-pandemic (2019) levels by 9%.
The current reduced rate of Air Passenger Duty for visitors departing Britain for Kuwait is £87.
Kuwaiti nationals can pay £30 for a visa waiver to enter the UK.

Markets

Kuwait