Bahrain’s tourism sector is set for a rebound with a new strategy expected to be unveiled before the end of the year. The Kingdom’ Industry, Commerce and Tourism Minister Zayed Alzayani said the country was ready with its Tourism Strategy 2.0, which will enable it to ‘diversify and go global’ in a post-pandemic world.
He reassured that the country was fully ready to receive visitors, with all safety and health measures in line with the Covid-19 protocols.
According to a recent report in Bahrain’s newspaper Gulf Daily News, Alzayani said “Tourism is one of the priority sectors in Bahrain’s diversification plan. “We started in 2015 with the first publicly announced (five-year) tourism strategy, with much more visibility and clear performance indices and we could achieve it, contributing double to the GDP by the fourth year. We want to go forward, expand and diversify, we want to go global and regional as most of our tourists are from within the GCC or the Middle East and also from Russia, India, China and so on.
“We are in the process of launching our Tourism Strategy 2.0.”
Last year Bahrain Tourism had launched a unique digital campaign in June 2020 titled ‘Ihnee Fee Al Bahrain (Here in Bahrain)’, to promote the island as a leading tourist destination and increase the number of visitors, with a special focus on Gulf states. It coincided with #WeWillMeet campaign by the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BTEA).
“We are looking for the right opportunity and the right time and hopefully we see that (Tourism Strategy 2.0) happening before the end of the year,” added the minister. Alzayani was speaking at the Asian Business Leadership Forum (ABLF) virtual conclave that gathers global leaders from varied sectors, who spoke about strategies to counter challenges in a post-pandemic world.
“I think it’s important for us today, from a tourism point of view, to ensure the safety and health of travelers and people working in the travel and tourism industry,” said the minister. “Our health system ready to handle it, all facilities are prepped up to match the standards and same goes with aircraft. And we are ready to receive tourists,” he added.
Alzayani expressed confidence in the growth of the tourism sector in Bahrain. “Even through the pandemic, we saw continuous investment in the sector – be it products, new routes or infrastructure. So we feel we are just around the corner on the rebounding of the sector.”
