The Gulf region is experiencing a meteoric transformation in its tourism sector, with substantial investments and the development of strategic blueprints across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) individual countries. These blueprints are guided by three key objectives: Catalyzing and diversifying the local economy, bolstering a nation’s global brand, and enriching national pride and cultural heritage.
In addition, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Qatar have developed well-defined tourism strategies and target sectors. Qatar has positioned itself as a sporting nation, and Saudi Arabia and the UAE have adopted a holistic tourism and leisure strategy encompassing nature, culture and heritage, entertainment, luxury tourism, sports, and e-gaming. As a result, each country is internationally recognized as a landmark tourist destination and is associated with worldwide events.
Kuwait would benefit from following their lead. With the largest share of GDP generated from oil rents (55%) among its GCC peers, Kuwait faces a critical need to diversify its revenue streams and repatriate the leakage in its tourism spending. By defining its ambitions and clearly positioning itself as a desirable destination, Kuwait could replicate the tourism successes of its neighbors. To do so, it must implement a comprehensive tourism strategy with targeted positioning and clearly defined ambitions.
In contrast to its neighboring countries, which have significantly increased their investments into diversifying tourism offerings while capitalizing on emerging travel trends, Kuwait has allocated minimal resources to renovating or expanding its tourism sector. One example is Kuwait Entertainment City, a popular amusement park which opened in the 1980s on the western side of Kuwait City, closed in 2016 due to lack of investment. It was demolished in 2020 with no permanent viable alternative entertainment available to local customers. Silk City, Failaka Island, and the Olympic Village are other examples of projects with potential, but that have seen minimal progress.
These unrealized local attractions have led many Kuwaiti residents to seek tourism experiences outside of the country. In 2019, outbound tourism expenditure reached $15.8 billion (or 5 billion Kuwaiti dinar), representing approximately 12% of its GDP, although it decreased to 7.5% in 2022 (Exhibit 1) due to the pandemic.
Moreover, Kuwait has the lowest total arrivals, and arrivals per capita in the GCC. Kuwait’s inbound tourism — mostly driven by visiting friends and relatives — also ranks among the lowest of its peers, at approximately 5% of GDP. This compares with 8% to 13% across Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, and Bahrain.
Putting Kuwait on the tourism map
By developing its tourism industry, Kuwait can diversify its revenue streams and decrease its outbound travel. A key tenet of diversification is the full revamp of its tourism strategy through new and differentiated offerings, potentially reinvigorating the traditions and values that make the nation unique to tourists, residents, and investors.
To cultivate a thriving tourism sector, Kuwait should prioritize catering to local demand first. This includes developing successful hospitality and leisure projects alongside the necessary infrastructure and a welcoming environment. By focusing on residents’ needs and experiences, Kuwait can capture spending and visits from citizens, residents, and their visiting friends and relative.
Kuwait has already taken steps in the right direction with commitments to a series of investments and clear aspirations to launch new destinations. In 2016, the Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmed Cultural Centre, also known as the Kuwait Opera House, was inaugurated after two years of construction at a budget of $775 million (Exhibit 2). In 2022, Winter Wonderland, an entertainment venue with more than 37 rides and games, was built in the record time of two months. It attracted over 100,000 visitors in around seven weeks and reopened in October 2023 for a second season. Green Island is another destination that launched its second season in February 2023, offering carnival games, retail shops, and restaurants.
Four essential steps for strategically developing Kuwait’s tourism sector
Kuwait should commit to doubling down on tourism as a priority sector, with a compelling vision that clearly defines its mandate. It should appoint sectoral champions who have clear roles and responsibilities and are accountable to tangible objectives. UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar have included tourism strategies in their national visions.
The successful execution of this vision requires the appointment of an executive entity to act as a tourism regulator and growth enabler, supported by solid governance and an efficient implementation engine for project delivery. In addition to the Ministry of Tourism in Saudi Arabia, the Ministry of Investment, the Ministry of Culture, as well as various other entities, fund, promote and invest in tourism projects (Exhibit 8). For instance, the Tourism Development Fund enables tourism investments by providing funding options and services such as facilitation and licenses, while the Saudi Tourism Authority promotes the country as a world-class tourism destination by managing the Saudi tourism brand, driving marketing and communication efforts, and developing destination concepts.
Efforts should include improving air mobility, simplifying the visa application process, and enhancing hospitality and transport options. Other GCC countries have undertaken extensive infrastructure development projects to bolster tourism and enable the flow of people, including constructing modern airports, railway networks, and metro systems.
Landmark buildings and monuments can become transformative national emblems, uplifting a country’s tourism sector. In Kuwait, strategic investment in promotion and marketing could elevate existing structures such as the Kuwait Towers or the Opera House into powerful emblems. Similarly, GCC nations have successfully capitalized on iconic structures such as the Burj Khalifa in UAE or the incoming mega and giga projects in Saudi Arabia to boost tourism and increase global recognition.
In the longer term, once Kuwait successfully boosts the local tourism industry and creates traction, the next priority should be to attract regional and global tourism and leisure investors. Key steps include fostering investment promotion opportunities, as well as enhancing regulatory frameworks and government services to streamline business operations.
Kuwait’s time to act is now. With a captive local market and obvious potential to lure foreign tourists with its rich cultural heritage and evocative natural landscapes, the country is poised to take up its rightful place on the global tourism map.
