Kingdom attends Arab tourism meeting

A delegation of the Kingdom of Bahrain participated in the 25th session of the Executive Office of the Arab Ministerial Council for Tourism, which was hosted in Al Ahsa and named ‘Capital of Arab Tourism’ for 2019. The session was held in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, on Sunday, on the sidelines of the 22nd session of the Arab Ministerial Council for Tourism.

The delegation was headed by the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, and Chairman of the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BTEA) Zayed Al Zayani, the Chief Executive Officer of BTEA, Nader Al Moayyed, and the Acting Director of Marketing and Tourism Promotion Directorate at BTEA, Dr Ali Follad. The council, which consists of eight Arab countries, elected Bahrain as a member of its Executive Office for a period of two years (2018-2019).

The agenda of the 25th session of the Executive Office of the Arab Ministerial Council for Tourism included the report and decisions of the meeting previously held, including the action plan submitted by the BTEA to activate the tourism information and statistics hub in support of the Arab tourism strategy, along with the updated draft and document of the Arab Strategy for Tourism which was submitted by the Ministry of Tourism in Egypt.

Commenting on the occasion, Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, and Chairman of BTEA, Zayed Al Zayani, said: “We are proud to be taking part in these meeting which comes as part of our role as active members of the Executive Office for a period of two years (2018-2019). Through our participation, we have been able to discuss the opportunities and challenges of the tourism sector in the Arab region and identify areas of cooperation between countries in the region and share experiences in the field of tourism.”

“Our participation in the meeting comes as part of our efforts to activate the tourism information and statistics hub in order to support the Arab tourism strategy. The BTEA has developed an integrated strategy aimed at elevating the Kingdom of Bahrain’s tourism industry by attracting investors and creating a suitable environment where tourism projects can thrive,” said the CEO of BTEA, Mr Nader Al Moayyed.

“The sound implementation of BTEA’s strategy has resulted in a significant improvement in the tourism sector performance over the course of last three years, recording an unprecedented figure 12 million visitors in 2018, an increase of 5.9 per cent compared to the previous year, reaffirming the continued growth of the tourism industry in the Kingdom,” he added.