Visitor Spending Rebounds to BD86m
Visitor spending in Bahrain roared back in May, wiping out much of the slump caused by the war and the shutdown of air travel.
Payments made with bank cards issued outside the kingdom hit BD86.1 million, up 204 pc from March and close to the level seen before the crisis, Central Bank of Bahrain figures show.
The rebound followed a steep fall in March, when the US-Iran war, Iranian attacks on Bahrain and the closure of airspace hit travel and trade. Spending on foreign cards sank 63 pc from BD76.5m in February to BD28.3m in March.
It then rose through April and May.
The May total was equal to about 98 pc of the BD87.9m spent through foreign cards in the same month last year.
Transaction numbers told the same story. They rose from 1.82m in March to 2.63m in April, then to 4.71m in May. That was a rise of 159.3 pc in two months and only 2.9 pc below the 4.85m transactions logged in May 2025.
Spending on Bahrain-issued cards held up far better during the war.
It fell 9.5 pc from BD343.6m in February to BD311m in March, before climbing to BD333.5m in April and BD370.4m in May.
May spending was 11.1 pc higher than in April and 3.2 pc above the BD359m recorded a year earlier. A rush to buy goods in the first days of the war is thought to have softened the March fall.
Total point-of-sale and online payments reached BD596.2m in May.
Point-of-sale spending stood at BD510m, against BD509.3m in May last year, a rise of 0.14 pc.
Online spending was hit harder during the crisis. It fell 22.7 pc from BD148.2m in February to BD114.5m in March.
The drop came as imports plunged 57.7 pc, from BD523.1m in February to BD221.1m in March, showing how the disruption slowed trade at the height of the crisis and cut the flow of goods bought by households.
Online payments rose to BD127.7m in April, up 11.5 pc, then climbed by 9.3 pc to BD139.6m in May.
They were still 7.1 pc below the BD150.3m recorded in May 2025.
The figures show a sharp return in visitor spending once flights resumed, while card spending by Bahrain residents stayed above last year’s level.
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Foreign Card Transactions
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March: 1.82 million
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April: 2.63 million
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May: 4.71 million
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Two-month increase: +159.3%
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Compared with May 2025: 2.9% lower
Total Card Spending (May)
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Total POS & online payments: BD596.2 million
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Point-of-sale spending: BD510 million (+0.14% YoY)
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Online spending: BD139.6 million (-7.1% YoY)
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