Bahrain is to be launched as a boutique, short-stay destination, under the guidance of the new Tourism Sector at the Ministry of Culture & Information, with roadshows planned across the region.
Earlier this year Minister Sheikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa appointed travel expert Ahmed Ali Al Nowakhda as assistant undersecretary along with tourism industry professional Dr Heba Aziz to help drive her vision of promoting and growing the island’s tourism industry.
Al Nowakhda said: “We are working towards Vision 2030, the government’s vision for the growth of Bahrain, and this is shaping the big headlines for tourism.
“We are currently preparing to launch the 2010-2015 phase of this development in which we will be looking particularly at cultural tourism and launching Bahrain as a boutique, short-stay destination.
“The biggest cultural project that we’re working on at the moment is the Pearling Pathway.”
This initiative was previously outlined to TTN by Sheikha Mai and will feature a 3.2km pathway in south Muharraq taking in all aspects of the once-thriving pearl industry, from the oyster beds and pearling vessels to the celebrations which took place at the end of the pearling season and the homes where members of the pearling community lived.
“There are also plenty of other cultural experiences to be found in Bahrain,” continued Al Nowakhda. “From Bahrain Fort with its museum to the Al Khamis Mosque, one of the oldest in the region, to the Al Fateh Mosque, where visitors can have an introduction to Islam.
“All of these are things which could be easily taken in on a short stay visit and we will be promoting the concept of two to three day stays in luxury destinations.
“We also want to promote Bahrain as a stopover destination, the airport is an important through route, particularly for Asia and India, and we have successful models regionally to draw on, for example Dubai, so that is something else we are definitely looking at.”
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Dr Heba |
Dr Heba added that the cruise sector is increasingly important to the economy with up to 150,000 passengers expected to pass through Bahrain in 2009 and this number set to increase next year with the launch of Royal Caribbean’s Brilliance of the Seas which will be sailing out of Dubai from January to April, 2010.
“We are working to turn Bahrain into a hub for cruises to increase the number of nights passengers stay on the island,” she said. “Our aim is for the kingdom to become a changing hub so that people can join or leave their cruises here which will, again, bring up visitor traffic to the island.”
Most of the island’s current visitor traffic, which is at around 4.5 million arrivals per year, comes through Saudi Arabia.
And to exploit the local market the Tourism Sector is planning two roadshows next year, one in January, one in June, showcasing the attractions of Bahrain to Saudi, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman.
Al Nowakhda said: “This is a first for us but it is something we feel will be beneficial to the tourism economy, therefore we have been co-ordinating with the private sector, tour operators, hotels etc to formulate the areas we should be targeting.
“I think the GCC is very fortunate in having a mixed market of both GCC nationals and expats, we want to appeal to both.
“We’re also working very closely with Gulf Air, which is our main partner in many of these activities.”
And the Tourism Sector also has other important projects in the pipeline. The Tree of Life site is undergoing a major revamp which will see it made much more visitor friendly with parking, a refreshment area and souvenir stand.
And behind the scenes work is going on to overhaul the data recording system so that tourism figures can be more accurately gauged and the effects of the various promotions can be quantified.
by Liz O’Reilly