MANAMA: With the countdown on for the biggest sporting event in the region, officials at the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) are leaving no stone unturned to attract neighboring Saudi visitors.
A massive outdoor advertising campaign has hit the streets of the Kingdom; billboards to high-rise buildings are sporting the colorful "Where the Heart Is" campaign for the upcoming 2009 Formula One Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix, scheduled for April 24-26.
"There is lot of buzz and hype before the race that is slowly building," said Martin Whitaker, CEO of BIC. "We are targeting GCC visitors and plan to launch several campaigns in malls and other key locations."
He added that they were especially targeting Saudi visitors through their advertisements campaigns on the King Fahd Causeway and several hotels.
"They are our good supporters. We have also started our promotional campaigns with several Saudi companies and their local media."
According to a survey conducted last year by BIC, more than half of the attendees were Bahraini while 40 percent were visitors from Saudi Arabia.
Eight percent of those attended were from other GCC (Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE and Oman); seven percent were from the UK and two percent were from the US.
Saudis planning to attend the three-day race can obtain a visa on arrival. Officials from the General Directorate of Nationality, Passports and Residence (GDNPR) said that the F1 visa will be valid for entry into Bahrain for two weeks from the date of first entry and is a multiple re-entry visa.
The visa would have no physical presence in the passport. Other conditions include a valid F1 ticket, proof of purchase or identification showing that travelers are officially associated with the F1 event in Bahrain.
