‘9.1 million tourists visited Bahrain this year’

With 9.1 million tourists visiting the Kingdom during the first nine months of this year, the tourism segment is witnessing a strong growth, it emerged. This is a 5.7 percent increase compared to the numbers from the last year during the same period. Bahrain’s tourism sector has shown further growth this year with more tourists coming to the country and longer stays, said Shaikh Khaled Bin Humood Al Khalifa, the Chief Executive Officer of the Bahrain Authority for Tourism and Exhibitions.

“I think it is time for the tourism industry to take the economy forward,” he said, adding “Bahrain is maintaining excellent tourism numbers this year”. He was also speaking at the ‘Innovation in Tourism - Building the Tourism Sector for the Savvy Travellers’ event. “Our tourism strategy is based on four As -  Awareness, Attraction, Accessibility, and Accommodation. We have worked closely with the Economic Development Board to create the tourism brand. Now we have a unified message on what Bahrain offers and how we can market Bahrain.

“As a result of creating the Bahrain tourism brand, we launched international tourism offices in seven countries. “Bahrain is no longer a weekend destination, people now spend more time here. Our aim now is to extend the average length of stay of the tourists to four nights.