Bahrain Draws 16m Non-Bahraini Arrivals

TDT | Manama

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Bahrain received 16.04 million non-Bahraini arrivals in 2025, its highest yearly total in nine years, as travel into the kingdom rose for a third year running after the pandemic slump.

Figures published by Nationality, Passports and Residence Affairs at the Ministry of Interior on Bahrain’s Open Data Portal show arrivals climbed from 15.71 million in 2024, up by 334,000 travellers, or 2.1 pc.

The total was also 1.92 million higher than in 2023, when 14.13 million arrivals were recorded. Compared with 2022, the number has risen by 4.66 million, or about 41 pc, from 11.38 million.

The rise was led mainly by visitors from the Gulf. GCC arrivals reached about 11.2 million in 2025, compared with 10.8 million in 2024 and 9.6 million in 2023.

Saudi Arabia made up the largest share by far, with more than 10.4 million arrivals. Kuwait came next with about 425,000, followed by Qatar with 151,000, the UAE with 114,000 and Oman with around 70,000.

The second quarter gave the main lift to the yearly rise. Arrivals during the period reached about 4.13 million, compared with 3.93 million in the same quarter of 2024, an increase of more than 201,000, or 5.1 pc.

January was the busiest month of the year, with 1.54 million arrivals. May followed with 1.45 million, August with 1.44 million and November with 1.42 million.

Bahrain recorded year-on-year growth in seven months out of 12 in 2025. April posted the biggest monthly rise by rate, with arrivals up 12.1 pc, or about 146,000 travellers, compared with April 2024.

May rose by 7.9 pc, January by 6.6 pc, October by 6.3 pc and August by 5.8 pc. The GCC figures show the scale of the rebound. Gulf arrivals stood at more than 5.8 million in 2010 and rose to about 9.5 million in 2018, before easing to 8.4 million in 2019.

They then fell to about 1.2 million in 2020 as travel curbs hit movement across the region.

The number recovered to more than 8.2 million in 2022, then rose to 9.6 million in 2023 and 10.8 million in 2024, before reaching about 11.2 million in 2025. The 2025 figures put Bahrain above the 16 million mark for non-Bahraini arrivals in a single year, with nearby Gulf markets, chiefly Saudi Arabia, still accounting for most of the flow.