The Bahraini capital Manama — selected last month as the 2013 Capital of Arab Tourism — is busy preparing to hold events and activities to attract tourists from around the world.

Manama was selected based on requirements set by the Arab Tourism Organisation (ATO), according to ATO president Bandar Al Faheed.

“The kingdom of Bahrain has become a tourist destination for Arab families by virtue of its infrastructure and the quality of its tourist services,” he said.

Nabil Kano, chairman of the tourism committee at the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), said the greatest challenge Bahrain currently faces is promoting tourism through public-private partnerships in world-class exhibitions in cities like Berlin, London and Dubai.

“Bahrain has a tourism product that qualifies it to attract greater numbers of international tourists from Europe and the Americas, especially as there are [on-going] endeavours to highlight the heritage and cultural aspect of the kingdom through festivals, by restoring ancient archaeological sites and featuring its antiquities and historic landmarks,” Kano told Al-Shorfa.

The other key to the tourism sector’s success centres on the diversity of Bahrain’s tourism facilities — including hotels, resorts and beaches — and the nature and quality of the tourism services it provides, he said.

Kano said naming Manama the 2013 capital of Arab tourism “is an excellent start to a new era of developing and training additional [Bahrainis] in this promising field”.

Next steps

Jihad al-Amin, CEO of the House of Travel Tourism Agency, told Al-Shorfa, “Up until now, the kingdom has lacked seaside resorts and a concentration of entertainment programmes geared specifically to families, as these [programmes] should not only be limited to shopping malls.”

It is also important to develop the public transport sector, in particular taxi service, to link various tourist sites, including resorts, archaeological sites, castles, museums and ancient souqs, he said.

“Putting together a simple programme at a popular market or archaeological landmark would suffice to acquaint many tourists and even foreign residents with our heritage and authentic Bahraini character,” he said.

According to al-Amin, any marketing campaigns promoting Bahrain must be clearly defined and must highlight new landmarks.

The campaigns should also target Gulf families, he said, adding that Bahrain could begin by developing tourist programmes designed specifically for them, such as festivals and recreational activities that are appropriate for both adults and children.

It is also crucial to exploit the race car track at the Bahrain International Circuit to attract tourists, by way of organising several joint sports and tourism programmes, he said.

Al-Amin urged Bahrain’s embassies abroad to help promote tourism in the kingdom through specialised publications, booklets or promotional delegations.

Areas of improvement

Jamil Wafa, an investor in the tourism sector and former member of the Supreme Council for Tourism, said, “[Any] shortcomings must be eliminated [if we are] to elevate the Bahraini tourism product to a level where it becomes capable of attracting tourists from around the world.”

Some of Bahrain’s points of weakness include negligence in maintaining the cleanliness of public facilities, such as streets, trees and buildings, he told Al-Shorfa. Other weaknesses include communication barriers between tourists and Bahraini taxi drivers or tour guides due to poor training, or lack thereof.

“Bahrain lacks schools that teach the ABCs of tourism, and also lacks ideas to [improve] services for tourists at major transit ports, notably the airport,” he added.

“The Bahraini Minister of Culture has a good theory on how to attract tourists with culture, restoration and festivals, but one hand cannot clap [without the other],” Wafa said, adding that there is an urgent need for greater co-ordination among all parties concerned.

According to Wafa, Bahrain’s most pressing priorities in developing the tourism sector include training tourism workers, improving tourist facilities and improving the quality of services by tightening internal controls.