DUBAI: Visitor arrivals to Bahrain rose 14 percent to 5.6 million during the first half of the year as the country pursues a strategy to promote tourism beyond its mostly Gulf market.
The island state also had 635,464 same-day visitors, or those visiting for less than 24 hours, during the six-month stretch.
Over half of the tourists, according to the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BTEA), visited Bahrain for holiday and leisure while about a fifth of them went there for shopping.
“Our efforts are exerted in positioning the Kingdom on the international tourism map and promoting Bahrain as a regional and international tourist destination which is line with our overall tourism strategy,” said Sheikh Khaled bin Humood Al-Khalifa, the BTEA chief executive officer.
Bahrain has launched representative offices in Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, Germany, France, India, China and Russia and is in talks with Malaysia and South Korea as part of its initiative to draw tourists from the international market.
Tourist spending during the six months to June reached 631.4 million Bahraini dinars (SR6.297 billion) while average tourist expenditure per day was pegged at 77 dinars.
“Also total nights booked during the first half of 2017 totaled to 4.7 tourist nights with average length of stay reaching 2.3 night per tourist,” Sheik Khaled said. “Hotels topped the list of the type of accommodation booked by travelers, with over 70 percent of travelers coming through the Bahrain International Airport and 72 percent travelling through the King Fahad Causeway opting for a hotel stay.”
Bahrain’s tourism sector contributed about 6.3 percent to the country’s non-oil output last year, up from 4.6 percent before, and is targeting to increase it to 7 percent by next year.
Bahrain visitor arrivals up 14% to 5.6 million in the first half
Bahrain visitor arrivals up 14% to 5.6 million in the first half
