MANAMA: Momentum from the third quarter, when tourist arrivals across the causeway jumped four-fold jump to 1.3 million, is set to drive a resurgence in Bahrain’s hospitality sector, a top government official has said.
Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BTEA) chief executive Dr Nasser Ali Qaedi told the GDN in an exclusive interview yesterday that as the kingdom enters the post Covid-19 era, the rebound in tourism is quite strong.
“If you look at causeway traffic for example as a key indicator, in the first two quarters we had 297,000 visitors crossing the causeway, however in Q3 alone that figure jumped to 1.3 million indicating a big appetite in tourists coming back to Bahrain,” said Dr Ali Qaedi yesterday on the sidelines of the opening of the Gulf Property Show at The Avenues.
According to the official, the authority is expecting to exceed 2019 levels by 2026 under an aggressive comeback strategy.
The Tourism 2.0 strategy announced last month by Industry, Commerce and Tourism Minister Zayed Alzayani aims to contribute raise the sector’s contribution to the national gross domestic product to 11.4 per cent by the end of 2026.
Tourism in the country accounted for 6.8pc of GDP in 2019.
Key elements of the new strategy include the development of waterfronts and sea leisure activities; specific focus on business, sports, leisure, medical and heritage tourism and promoting Bahrain as a location for movie shoots.
Noting a return of momentum as indicated by the higher visitor numbers in the just concluded Jewellery Arabia as compared to the 2019 edition, Dr Ali Qaedi hoped this would continue with the Gulf Property Show.
The authority is championing the Team Bahrain approach, he said, adding that “the message that we to convey through the exhibition is that we want to be the ambassador for the kingdom to promote tourist attractions and the facilities and the projects that are coming up and we are happy to work with all companies, in and out of Bahrain, to make sure that when they promote their events, we promote Bahrain as meetings, incentives, conference and exhibitions (MICE) destination.”
“We want to make sure that as the world comes out of a post-Covid-19 tourism rut, Bahrain is at the forefront of the industry, whether it is regional or global... We are positioning ourselves in such a way that we are considered a destination of choice and we are scaling up our marketing efforts and infrastructure projects and facilitate the offerings in the country and build a unique experience for visitors.”
The main pillar of the new strategy is building on the ‘4As’, which stand for Awareness, Attraction, Access and Accommodation and place Bahrain as a destination in 19 target markets including countries in Europe, Asia, Middle East and North America, with new markets like Israel already opening up, he added.
The official further said that the BTEA is working closely with the national carrier Gulf Air “as part of the same team promoting Bahrain and we will try to capitalise on the destinations that the airline is investing in to create an integrated experience for travellers”.
A key target of the government’s new Economic Recovery Plan is to link the country to more than 70 destinations by direct flights by 2030, it was announced earlier this month.
Dr Al Qaedi asserted that the new exhibition centre in Sakhir, which will be the largest single-site centre in the Middle East when it opens next year, was a key element of the tourism strategy.
The centre has a total footprint covering 300,000sqm with exhibition and convention space of 100,000sqm, 10 halls, a 4,000-seat tiered auditorium, 95 meeting rooms, royal and VIP majlises and a 250-seat restaurant, will enable Bahrain to host a wide range of events from exhibitions and conventions to concerts, live events, weddings and seminars.
“This is going to be complemented with many tourism projects that we are working on right now including waterfront developments, hotels, resorts, and we are working closely with Edamah, the property development arm of Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat, to support on licensing and development and guidance to promote the developments,” he said.
avinash@gdn.com.bh
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