Bahrain travel expert: It’s business as usual

MANAMA: A leading member of Bahrain’s travel and tourism industry assured residents and expatriates in the Gulf states, especially those coming from Saudi Arabia, the country remains an island of peace and stability.
“Despite all the weird stuff you hear in the international media and social media, it’s business as usual here in Bahrain,” said Mohamed Buzizi, president, SKAL International Bahrain. “You can see for yourself.”
His organization is celebrating 40 years of operation in Bahrain. SKAL is widely recognized as a professional organization of industry leaders dedicated to the promotion of global tourism and friendship.
“Bahrain joined SKAL in 1972 becoming its 370th chapter,” Buzizi told Arab News yesterday. “We are celebrating our 40th anniversary in style and invite leading members of the travel and tourism industry from all the GCC countries for a two-day forum called ‘Portrait Bahrain.”
Buzizi said they also invited journalists to take part in the celebrations.
“We want the media to see with their own eyes how normal things are here in Bahrain. We expect them to report to their counterparts in distant places about the great travel destination Bahrain continues to be.”
“Travel and tourism industry leaders will see for themselves that peace reigns in Bahrain. So let me reiterate, Bahrain is totally safe; its business as usual; there is complete normalcy,” he said.
He advised his guests to take a walk in the streets during the evening and late at night. “Hotels are open, restaurants are open, and clubs are open.
Bahrain is as dynamic as it always was,” he said.
Newspapers in Bahrain reflected Buzizi’s optimism. In a front-page report, Gulf Daily News quoted Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al-Khalifa as saying, “Bahrain must pursue the march of progress and development.”
“We will debunk media defamation by exposing facts and we will continue the development momentum with great determination,” said the prime minister. “Bahrain will always be invincible because of the people’s unity and cohesion.”