Bahrain targets BD1bn a year from tourism by 2020

Manama / TNS

Bahrain is aiming to earn BD1 billion per year from tourism by 2020, it was revealed. The estimated revenue for last year was BD600 million, which means almost doubling the income in the next four years.
Economic Development Board (EDB) tourism and leisure investment executive director Jerad Bachar said it would be difficult, but achievable. He was speaking
at a roundtable with journalists recently at EDB headquarters in Seef.
A report measuring the economic impact of tourism on Bahrain was conducted earlier this year by EDB chief economist Dr Jarmo Kotilaine and Bachar. “Tourism continues to grow as one of the prime sectors of Bahrain’s economy,” said Bachar.
“Our role is to continue to develop and encourage investment in this sector. “We feel that there is great opportunity for growth in both public and private investment.” Bachar said he believed by 2020 Bahrain would look completely different due to ongoing projects, including the $1bn Bahrain International Airport revamp and a number of five-star hotels under construction.
“As the tourism sector evolves, 2015 to 2020 will be very different,” he said. “A number of new hotels, including the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay and ART Rotana (Amwaj Islands), opened last year.
“The One and Only Hotel is
currently being built and the new airport is under construction and will open fully in 2019.” Tourism currently contributes to five per cent of Bahrain’s gross domestic product (GDP). “The goal for next 10 years is to reach the international standard of 10pc of GDP,” said Bachar.
“The Bahrain Tourism and Exhibition Authority (BTEA) has a goal of 15 million arrivals by 2018. “We want to have BD1bn (in tourism income) by 2020.”
Dr Kotilaine said the report set out to underscore how important tourism was to Bahrain. “We all see Saudis flood the country, especially on weekends,” he said.
“Tourism accounts for 10pc of the global GDP, so it’s an important sector. “It’s important because it’s labour intensive, (with) lots of employment opportunities, such as tourist guides. “People want to travel and there are more people passing through the Arabian Peninsula at the moment than ever before in human history, so this is an opportunity to create an economic impact.”
However, he said it wasn’t easy to define or understand tourism in economic terms. “There are lots of different events held throughout the year, such as the Formula One, Spring of Culture, and we have Hawar coming back as an eco-tourism destination. “We also have education and healthcare tourism, with Saudis coming here for plastic surgery and so on. “Distribution, however, is not equal. The vast majority come from Saudi, which is fantastic, but it means we have the opportunity to get people to come in from other places.
“The vast majority are also short-term leisure visitors, which means they go shopping and have meals and go back.” Information on tourists comes from three primary sources, said Dr Kotilaine, the best of which is survey-based information, an area Bahrain is weak in and needs time to become consistent.
“The second is national accounts, which is GDP data of different sectors. The problem is that on that list of sectors, tourism is not included. “It involves many sectors, such as accommodation and transport, but is not a sector of its own. “Third is the balance of payments that the central bank publishes and International Monetary Fund audits.
“It sees the money coming in and going out of the country.” He said the third source is where the information for the study came from, as the Central Bank of ahrain has accounts specific to tourism expenditure.