A slew of announcements from Bahrain’s Economic Development Board (EDB) and the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BTEA) in recent months communicate a renewed emphasis on the country’s hospitality and travel industry as the Kingdom continues to diversify its economy.
Already the fastest growing sector in the Kingdom, with hotels and restaurants expanding by 10% in 2014 and 7.3% in 2015, strong investment in tourism is intended to increase its overall contribution to Bahrain’s GDP. Analysts estimate travel and tourism currently contributes around 5% of GDP and while forecasts vary, the EDB is targeting tourism revenues of US $1bn by 2020.
Visitor numbers, around 80% of which come from within the GCC, hit 10 million in 2014, an increase of 11% on the previous year. The new “Ours. Yours. Bahrain” tourism brand identity intends to raise awareness of the destination and increase demand, with new representative offices being opened in the UK, France, Russia, Germany and India, as well as the Gulf, to target alternative markets.
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BTEA CEO Sheikh Khaled Bin Humood Al-Khalifa says the campaign was developed around promoting the “warmth and welcoming attitude” of the Bahraini people and part of a four-pronged strategy prioritising “awareness, attraction, access and accommodation”.
Access for foreign visitors is critical and major infrastructure is being developed to facilitate this. Bahrain’s biggest strategic project is the estimated $1.1bn expansion of Bahrain International Airport, 70% of which is being funded by the GCC Fund — primarily by the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) — with the rest provided by the Bahraini government.
Designed to increase capacity to 13.5 million passengers a year — twice the current capacity with figures showing that 8.5 million people passed through the airport in 2014 — the new airport will sustain Bahrain for the next 15 to 20 years, according to MEED’s Bahrain market outlook.
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 is used by 10 million vehicles a year.
The new causeway and bridge will undoubtedly increase family travel from all states connected to the proposed GCC rail network, offering Bahrain access to a broader range of mid-market travellers.
At the other end of the spectrum, port facilities are being developed for yachts that arrive in Bahrain from other countries, and to increase appeal to the leisure market, the Avenues Mall is being built.
On the accommodation front, BTEA statistics report 120 hotels operational in Bahrain, with 3,000 rooms in development pipeline across more than 10 five-star and four-star hotels, including One and Only Resort and Spa, now under construction.
Bahrain’s room stock currently sits at 9,190 rooms, according to STR, with 1,002 rooms added in 2015 and 1,521 rooms forecast to be complete during 2016, reflecting the increased pace of development.
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