Bahrain returns to the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) this year to showcase its expanding hotel and tourism infrastructure with an active hotel pipeline of 13 properties and 3,000 hotel rooms.
Tourism is expected to contribute $1 billion to the kingdom’s economy by the end of the decade, according to the kingdom’s Economic Development Board.The increase in rooms, which are split between the luxury and four-star brackets, is set against a backdrop of occupancy levels above 52 per cent as per CB Richard Ellis data, and average rates are in line with similar market movement in other regional hubs.According to the kingdom’s Economic Development Board, its tourism sector was expected to grow further in 2015, after continued gains in the 2014 visitor numbers of 10 million, an 11 per cent increase over the previous year.US-headquartered Wyndham Hotel Group has four properties under development and due to open within the next 12-18 months, while Emaar Hospitality Group has announced plans to launch four hotels under its Address and Vida brands, by 2018. Luxury Asia-based brand, Anantara, will also open on Durrat Al Bahrain in 2018.'Bahrain is making significant investment into its tourism-related infrastructure, including a much-needed $1.1 billion airport expansion, and also has plans to expand its current exhibition centre to accommodate large-scale events across all categories. So this year’s ATM will provide an excellent platform for the kingdom’s tourism and hospitality community to highlight their future vision for the country,' said Nadege Noblet-Segers, exhibition manager, ATM.In addition, a new $3 billion road and rail crossing is being planned for completion in 2018, to reduce the congestion on the existing King Fahd causeway which connects Bahrain to Saudi Arabia. It is currently used by 10 million vehicles a year. The new causeway and bridge is expected to increase family travel from all states connected to the proposed GCC rail network, offering Bahrain access to a broader range of mid-market travellers.According to the Q3 2015 YouGov Travel Oracle insight report, one-third (36 per cent) of surveyed leisure travellers choose budget hotels when travelling for pleasure, with Asian expats the most likely to opt for low cost accommodation (52 per cent) and 35 per cent of all respondents stating that reasonable cost is one of the most important elements when considering a leisure destination.Overall, 41 per cent of travellers interviewed had a per person trip budget of $1,000 or less, thus putting cost high on the priority list.'This clearly demonstrates the growing appetite of travellers for a wide array of accommodation options, and in offering mid-market options this frees up additional visitor spend for other tourism activities,' said Noblet-Segers.The YouGov report also looked at business travel with 15 per cent of total respondents reporting a decrease in corporate travel budget over the last 12 months, which is accordingly highlighting an opportunity for mid-level brands to target the newly budget-conscious corporate traveller.'Bahrain is an all-round destination as either an ideal short break location for GCC residents, especially those from Saudi Arabia, or for Europeans in search of summer sun, as well as for business travellers and conference delegates,' added Noblet-Segers.Bahrain-based organisations participating at ATM include the Ministry of Culture Tourism Sector; Ramee Grand Hotel & Spa; 24x7rooms.com; Gulf Hotel and Sabre.