$10bn to be invested in 15 Bahrain hotels by 2020

Bahrain is hoping to add 15 new hotels and beachfront resorts by 2020.

The Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) said the country’s hotel and restaurant sector is witnessing growth. The planned hotels and beachfront resorts will have a collective investment value of more than $10bn, Bahrain News Agency (BNA) reported.

The properties in the pipeline include global hotel brands like The One&Only Resort, Wyndham Grand Hotel, Fairmont, Vida Hotel & Resort, The Address Hotel & Resort, Ibis Hotel, and Pullman Hotel. 

According to BNA, these hotels will add to the kingdom’s existing portfolio of over 190 hotels and resorts. This portfolio includes 18 five-star hotels, 48 four-star hotels, 35 three-star hotels, 81 serviced apartments, and 11 resorts. These hotels currently offer a capacity of more than 16,500 rooms. 

Hotelier Middle East previously reported that Swiss-Belhotel International (SBI) will triple its inventory of rooms in the Kingdom of Bahrain this year with the opening of two new hotels already under development.

The country recently unveiled a new tourism identity – ‘Ours. Yours. Bahrain’ – as part of Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BTEA)'s commitment towards reinvigorating the kingdom’s tourism industry. 

The campaign’s strategic and infrastructural initiatives aim to double the tourism industry’s contribution to Bahrain’s GDP from 3.6% to 6.6%. 

According to figures released ahead of ATM 2017, Bahrain witnessed an 8.4% increase in inbound traffic in the third quarter of 2016 and a peak of 1.4 million arrivals during the month of August.

Commenting on the developments in Bahrain’s tourism and hospitality sectors, Khalid Al Rumaihi, chief executive at EDB, said: "These future investments in the hospitality sector will bring several new international hotel chains to the kingdom and raise the profile of existing ones.