Bahrain could lose at least $700m in revenues if its showpiece Formula One race is cancelled indefinitely following civil unrest in the Gulf kingdom.
The March 13 season opener was cancelled on Monday following violent clashes that left seven dead and hundreds injured, but may still be staged later in the racing calendar.
Hotels, travel agents and tourism operators in the kingdom stand to lose millions if the event does not go ahead, a senior executive at Kanoo Travel, the Gulf’s largest travel firm, said.
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Numbers were already down by 50 percent following widespread unrest in the Middle East, but a number of clients have retained their bookings in the hope the race will be rescheduled, said Sunil De Souza, regional travel manager for the UAE and Oman.
“Most of them we spoke to want to hold onto the booking for some time until probably a week until things become clearer. We are hoping [the protests] will subside and the race will continue at a later date and we will carry [the bookings] forward to a later date,” he added.
Hotels are likely to be worst hit by the cancellation. The majority boast 100 percent occupancy over a race weekend.
"It has definitely affected everyone,” said Marwan Haddad, director of sales at Marriott Executive Apartments said.
Jeff Strachan, Marriott International’s vice president of sales and marketing for MENA, said much hinged on the rescheduling of the Bahrain race.
“[We’re awaiting] progress of the discussions between F1 and Bahrain authorities with regards to the potential rescheduling of the race,” he said. “We will then address how best to handle the business booked over the F1 period.”
The Bahrain Grand Prix generated $600m in revenue in 2008, according to data from the state-backed Mumtalakat Holding Company. This was a rise of nearly 10 percent on 2007’s figures, and was likely to have been higher again in 2010.
F1 commercial chief Bernie Ecclestone on Tuesday returned a multimillion-dollar cheque to Bahrain in a refund of the licence fees the Gulf state paid to host the event.
The amount, rumoured to be $60m, was returned as an act of loyalty and good faith, Ecclestone told The Times.
"Nobody gains from this," Ecclestone said. "I want to be loyal to the King [of Bahrain], because he is doing everything he can to put things right with his people. He doesn't need people like me stabbing him in the back.
"Right from the start, we talked about the problems there, and he was straight with me. I am not there and I do not know properly what problems they are having. But the King was concerned about Formula One and our safety, which is why he took the decision to call off the race."
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