Last weekend, I was fortunate enough to be at the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix, thanks to the wonderful hospitality of Gulf Air (Abby, Alec…shameless plug as promised!) and enjoyed the event enormously.
It wasn’t just the racing that made an impression, but the way that the whole island vibrated to the sound of the 18,000rpm engines and buzzed with the activity of the drivers, teams and onslaught of celebrities who headed to Bahrain for the most important few days in the Kingdom’s sporting and social calendars.
In fact, I learnt that hosting the event pulled a whopping US $395 million into Bahrain in 2007. A percentage of that stays at the track, of course, but the vast majority pours down to the airlines, hotels, restaurants, bars, shops and even taxi drivers who run people around the island.
Watching the parade lap from The Paddock Club, I bumped into a delegation from Aldar, the company that is developing the Yas Marina circuit for the Abu Dhabi GP, and they couldn’t wait to welcome the F1 circus, tourists and petrolheads to their new circuit in November.
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The enthusiasm from those involved and spectators alike came in sharp contrast to the time I spent living in southern Spain. Arguably the birthplace of mass tourism and foreign-owned real estate, local authorities believed the sun, beaches and golf courses alone were enough to keep people flocking…today, many of those beaches lie empty.
Events such as the Grands Prix in Bahrain and Abu Dhabi, the Rugby 7s and World Cup horseracing in Dubai have given tourists another reason to visit the region. However, hospitality and travel professionals shouldn’t just wait for the government to act. I was extremely impressed by InterContinental Dubai Festival City’s involvement in the Emirates Literary Festival, for example, and hope it continues for years to come.
The message is simple: be creative and craft must-attend events now, and you’ll see a boost in revenues and publicity capable of seeing you through times that are even slower than the 2009 Ferrari team. If those events are well-established by the time the financial storm clears, you’ll emerge faster than a Brawn GP car being towed by a rocket.
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