Hotels and other hospitality businesses in the kingdom should look to hire more Bahrainis, as having a local as the first point of contact in such businesses could transform a tourist’s experiences, a top expert has said.
More training opportunities for nationals in the tourism sector would not only create jobs for Bahrainis, but also give tourists a more authentic experience, said Bahrain Chamber’s hospitality and tourism committee head Jihad Amin.
“Nobody knows Bahrain better than the Bahraini people,” he told the GDN.
“They deserve the opportunity to climb up the ladder in the tourism sector.
“They should be the first point of contact in the industry, not just in hotels, but also restaurants and other attractions.
“We especially need more Bahraini concierges, and with a bit of training, we can emulate nations like Saudi Arabia, that have mostly locals manning the front desks.
“Each hotel employs about 200 staff, including front desk and back office. Even if only 25 per cent of them are Bahrainis, that is still a large number of locals employed in the sector.”
Mr Amin stated that decades ago, Bahrainis were considered to be leaders of the tourism industry, holding top positions around the GCC, especially in Abu Dhabi and Oman.
Bahrainis were managing top hotels across the region, and were considered to be the best of the best, even before the region became a tourism hotspot.
In order for those days to come back, Mr Amin believes that the country needs to educate Bahrainis at a young age, and make them understand that a career in the tourism sector is very possible.
“We can start by integrating tourism courses into the school curriculum,” he said.
“There is also a need for specialised training institutions that can help Bahrainis develop tourism-related skills.
“There is already a successful model that we can follow from Saudi, who put such institutions in place years ago.
“Now, the Saudi tourism industry is mostly run by the locals themselves. If we put the same foundations in place, we can do the same in our kingdom in just a couple of years.”
Bahrain has slowly become a more popular vlogging destination on social media, with more YouTubers than ever before visiting the kingdom to record their experiences.
While they tend to have mostly positive experiences, there are two common talking points that are constantly brought up – lack of interaction with locals and difficulty in finding local cuisine.
Mr Amin believes that Bahrain can address these two issues by simply hiring more Bahraini concierges in hotels.
“Nobody is more qualified to show the hospitality of the Bahraini people than the locals themselves,” said Mr Amin.
“When travellers come to hotels, they seek guidance from the concierge, including where to go to eat traditional Bahraini meals.
“Concierge jobs give Bahrainis the opportunity to meet with tourists, give them the traditional Bahraini experience, which is what tourists want.”
Mr Amin admitted that there will be challenges, such as the need to change people’s mentality, especially when it comes to female Bahrainis working in hotels.
“It is not as bad as before, but there are still some families that believe a woman working in a hotel setting is a taboo,” he said.
“That kind of stringent mentality is slowly becoming a minority, and it is very possible to change that.
“I am confident that the next generation of Bahrainis, both men and women, will be increasingly open to working in such settings, and I am sure there will always be someone willing to take the opportunity when it arises.”
Tourism Minister Fatima Al Sairafi asserted that tour guides were ‘a cornerstone’ in achieving the goals of Bahrain’s Tourism Strategy (2022-2026), as the country is taking efforts to provide tourists with a culturally rich experience.
Last month, in response to MP Mohammed Hussain Janahi about the presence of expatriates in key tourism roles, she had said that a new ministerial decision was now being enforced to prohibit tourism companies from hiring unlicensed tour guides, marking a first step in regulating the sector.
She also highlighted co-ordination with the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority and Bahrain College of Tourism and Hospitality, which had 62 per cent Bahraini graduates until last month, to secure early employment opportunities for Bahraini students in hotels and tourism facilities.
Last year, the Accommodation and Food Service activities recorded an increase of 5.9 per cent, according to the latest Bahrain Economic Report released by the Finance and National Economy Minister.
Strong growth across several key indicators was observed during the year, such as total inbound tourism flows reaching 14.9 million, marking a 19.9pc year-on-year increase.
This was driven by the rise in same-day visitors which increased by 19.4pc to reach 8.3m and the rise in overnight visitors which increased by 20.7pc to reach 6.6m.
This positively impacted the hotel sector, with overnight stays recording a 16pc YoY growth to a total of 19.2m.
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