Manama selected as ‘Gulf Tourism Capital’ for 2024

TDT | Manama                                    

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Manama has been selected as the Gulf Tourism Capital for the year 2024. His Excellency Abdulla bin Adel Fakhro, Minister of Industry and Commerce and Acting Minister of Tourism, said it affirms the significant role of the Kingdom of Bahrain in supporting integrated tourism efforts at the regional level, encouraging inter-tourism among GCC countries, coordinating with various regional and international tourism entities, travel, culture and entertainment sectors, developing the industry at the Gulf level, and supporting the transition to sustainable tourism based on international best practices.

Fakhro was speaking as he took part in the 7th meeting of Their Excellencies the Ministers responsible for tourism in the (GCC) countries, which kicked off on Thursday, October 5, in the city of Jabal Al-Akhdar in the Sultanate of Oman.

The event is organised and hosted by the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism in Oman, and supervised by the General Secretariat of the GCC for the Arab States of the Gulf. Fakhro led the Bahrain delegation participating in the work of the ministerial meeting, stressing the importance of this meeting and the opportunities it provides to share experiences and innovate solutions to develop this vital sector, while taking advantage of the experiences of member countries, to enhance the presence of tourism in the GDP, ensuring the strengthening of the bonds of cooperation, and joint coordination among member states.

Accomplishments and initiatives

He emphasised the importance of this meeting in shedding light on the Kingdom’s remarkable accomplishments and initiatives in elevating the tourism landscape, not only within the Gulf region but on a global level as well.

The minister underscored the substantial investments made to enhance the tourism infrastructure, advance environmental standards and promote sustainability in hotels and tourist facilities.

These efforts have played a pivotal role in increasing the influx of international visitors, positioning Bahrain as one of the most appealing tourist destinations.

Priority topics

The meeting included a number of important priority topics on the agenda, foremost of which, is accelerating the pace of recovery of the tourism sector worldwide, increasing flexibility of the Gulf tourism and its ability to face various challenges in the future, while seeking ways to ensure the sustainability of the sector and to have constant follow-up by Bahrain to implement these decisions provided by the Committee of Their Excellencies the Tourism Ministers in the GCC.

Fakhro underscored the necessity of cultivating a conducive environment that nurtures SMEs within the tourism sector. He also advocated for the activation of sustainable tourism strategies on both regional and global scales to underpin the transformation of Gulf tourism destinations into more sustainable entities.