Bahraini Minister of Tourism Fatima Al-Sairafi said that her country has doubled its efforts to increase the tourism sector’s contribution to the national economy.
In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Al-Sairafi touched on the strategy pursued by Bahrain to achieve growth in the tourism sector and make it the first contributor to the GDP.
“In October 2021, the Bahraini government launched an ambitious plan for economic recovery, which covered promising sectors, including the tourism,” she said, noting that four priorities were set in the relevant tourism development strategy, including facilitating the entry to Bahrain, promoting tourist attractions, increasing marketing, and developing residence.
The minister pointed to the excellent performance of the tourism sector throughout 2022.
She said that tourism revenues reached 1.5 billion dinars in 2022 (about $4 billion), an increase of 50 percent, compared with the target number, which was set at one billion dinars ($2.6 billion).
Bahrain also recorded the entry of 9.9 million visitors, an increase of 19 percent over the target number of 8.3 million visitors. The average daily expenditure of tourists exceeded the target number by 10 percent, with 76 Bahraini dinars ($200.3) per visitor, compared to a targeted average expenditure of 69 Bahraini dinars ($181.8).
Similarly, the average duration of stay for tourists exceeded the target number of 3.3 days, recording 3.5 days, according to data revealed by Al-Sairafi.
The Bahraini minister of Tourism spoke about the government’s plan to attract new investments to the sector.
“The Bahraini tourism sector has many promising opportunities, starting from the advanced infrastructure to the rich and attractive tourist destinations,” she said.
“We are keen to strengthen cooperation with the private sector and international tourism offices, to attract more tourists to the Kingdom of Bahrain, and we have tourism agreements with more than 100 tourist offices from around the world,” she told Asharq Al-Awsat.
A recent economic report showed that the recovery of large sectors of tourism in Bahrain was achieved thanks to the increase in the number of arrivals via the King Fahd Causeway by 158.6 percent during the third quarter of 2022, compared to the same period in 2021.
Commenting on an agreement between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain to promote the two counties as a common tourist destination, Al-Sairafi said that meetings were being held with the Saudi Ministry of Tourism to discuss ways of cooperation in the field of tourism.
She added that the agreement to promote the two countries as one tourist destination was likely to result in the emergence of a number of new tourism fields, in addition to new hotels, resorts, restaurants and recreational facilities.
“Saudi Arabia and Bahrain have also cooperated to develop a unified tourism marketing plan to promote the tourism sector, by using the best and latest techniques and promotional channels, opening new markets and participating in international tourism events, with the aim to highlight the two kingdoms as a global tourist destination that attracts tourists from all over the world,” the Bahraini minister emphasized.
According to Al-Sairafi, the diversity of tourism projects in Bahrain is considered one of the important pillars of tourism attraction in the country.
In this context, she pointed to the beauty and modernity of tourism projects, which offer excellent services that fulfill the aspirations of the tourists, visitors and investors alike.
The minister also stressed the importance of the sustainable growth of the national economy, in line with the Kingdom’s development goals.
She added: “Tourism growth undoubtedly contributes to increasing the demand for real estate investment and enhances opportunities for diversification and integration of private investments in the two sectors. This enhances the pillars of the tourism strategy that seeks to develop business tourism and attract investments, in a way that strengthens the recovery of the market and the expansion of real estate development."
