Tourism in Bahrain
Bahrain recorded a total of 2.18 million tourists in 2021, ranking 33rd in the world in absolute terms.That smaller countries regularly perform lower in a comparison of the absolute number of guests, is obvious. By putting the tourist numbers in relation to the population of Bahrain, the result is much more comparable picture: With 1.5 tourists per resident, Bahrain ranked 24th in the world. In Western Asia, it ranked 2nd.
In 2021, Bahrain generated around 1.89 billion US dollars in the tourism sector alone. This corresponds to 4.2 percent of its the gross domestic product and approximately 2 percent of all international tourism receipts in Western Asia.
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Back to overview: Bahrain
Development of the tourism sector in Bahrain from 1995 to 2021
The following chart shows the number of tourist arrivals registered in Bahrain each year. Until 2005, tourists were defined as anyone who spent at least one night in the country but did not live there for longer than 12 months. Since 2006, same-day-visitors from neighboring countries are also included. Insofar as the survey included the purpose of the trip, business trips and other non-tourism travel purposes have already been excluded. The number of people passing through within the same day, and e.g., crew members of ships or flights are also not considered tourists in most countries. If the same person travels in and out more than once within the same year, each visit counts again.Data in the chart are given in millions of tourists. The red line represents the average of all 12 countries in Western Asia. Please note the jump between 2005 and 2006, when the calculation method was changed to include day tourists. For the calculation of income and expenditure, this was already the case before.
Revenues from tourism
In 1995, tourism revenues amounted to 593.00 million USD, or about 10.14 percent of the gross national product. Within 26 years, the country's dependence on tourism has decreased slightly. Before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, sales were $3.86 billion billion, 10.0 percent of gross national product.In 2020, tourist receipts plummeted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Of the $3.86 billion billion (2019), only $724.00 million billion remained. This is a 81 percent decrease in Bahrain.
On average, each of the tourists arriving in 2021 spent about 799 US dollars. Conversely, the inhabitants of Bahrain spend as much as 1,682 dollars a year when they themselves spend vacations abroad.
All data for Bahrain in detail
| Year | Number | Receipts | % of GNP |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2.18 m | 1.89 bn $ | 4.8 % |
| 2020 | 1.91 m | 724.00 m $ | 2.1 % |
| 2019 | 11.06 m | 3.86 bn $ | 10.0 % |
| 2018 | 12.05 m | 3.83 bn $ | 10.14 % |
| 2017 | 11.37 m | 4.38 bn $ | 12.35 % |
| 2016 | 10.16 m | 4.02 bn $ | 12.47 % |
| 2015 | 9.67 m | 2.83 bn $ | 9.1 % |
| 2014 | 10.45 m | 1.91 bn $ | 5.7 % |
| 2013 | 9.16 m | 1.88 bn $ | 5.8 % |
| 2012 | 8.06 m | 1.75 bn $ | 5.7 % |
| 2011 | 6.73 m | 1.77 bn $ | 6.1 % |
| 2010 | 11.95 m | 2.16 bn $ | 8.4 % |
| 2009 | 8.86 m | 1.87 bn $ | 8.2 % |
| 2008 | 8.63 m | 1.93 bn $ | 7.5 % |
| 2007 | 7.83 m | 1.85 bn $ | 8.5 % |
| 2006 | 7.29 m | 1.79 bn $ | 9.7 % |
| 2005 | 3.91 m | 1.60 bn $ | 10.04 % |
| 2004 | 3.51 m | 1.50 bn $ | 11.44 % |
| 2003 | 2.96 m | 1.21 bn $ | 10.89 % |
| 2002 | 3.17 m | 985.00 m $ | 10.27 % |
| 2001 | 2.79 m | 886.00 m $ | 9.9 % |
| 2000 | 2.42 m | 854.00 m $ | 9.4 % |
| 1999 | 2.02 m | 785.00 m $ | 11.86 % |
| 1998 | 1.64 m | 625.00 m $ | 10.11 % |
| 1997 | 1.61 m | 578.00 m $ | 9.1 % |
| 1996 | 1.20 m | 589.00 m $ | 9.7 % |
| 1995 | 1.40 m | 593.00 m $ | 10.14 % |
Our data on tourist numbers, revenues and expenditures are based on information from the World Tourism Organization. However, to ensure international comparability, the data for some years or countries were manually researched and corrected if they obviously included visitors without overnight stays. In these cases, the data were taken from the official communications of the respective national tourism authorities.
The World Tourism Organization additionally points out that in some countries, the number of tourists is only counted at airports, while in others they are also counted at border crossings or even hotels. A comprehensive and reliable indication is therefore hardly possible in any country.