The tourism industry in Bahrain is back in the pink of its health as tourist arrivals continue to rise in 2022. According to latest data released by the Tourism Statistics Survey at the Information and e-Government Authority (iGA), in April-June 2022, Bahrain registered a 38 pc growth in visitor arrivals as compared to the first quarter of the year.
Tourism Minister Fatima Al Sarafi says the latest data confirms that Bahrain’s tourism sector is on the right track to make a full recovery post pandemic. “The number of tourists visiting Bahrain in the second quarter (April to June) of 2022 has increased by 38 pc compared to the first quarter,” says Al Sarafi.
The tourism ministry said that the country’s hospitality and hotel sector witnessed a growth of 422 pc in business, while the total tourism revenue during the same period also grew by 562 pc as compared to the same period last year.
The growth has also been seen in terms of room nights booked by tourists in Bahraini hotels. “The hospitality and hotel sector recorded 2,973,000 nights of tourism during the second quarter of this year as compared to 569,000 nights of tourism in the second quarter of 2021, an increase of 422 pc,” says a press statement issued by the tourism ministry.
Total tourism revenue during the same period was BD 330.4 million (USD 877 million), an increase of 562 pc compared to the same period last year, when total tourism revenue was BD 49.9 million.
Encouragingly for the sector, the tourism recovery rate has already climbed back to 82 pc compared to the pre-pandemic period, especially the second quarter of 2019, says the ministry.
Al Sairafi says that the encouraging results reflect the fruitful efforts of promoting the Bahraini tourism sector regionally and internationally through its participation in many external activities.
The minister highlighted the importance of restoring the vital role of the sector in supporting the national economy, diversifying its sources and creating job opportunities, within the framework of the effective implementation of Bahrain’s tourism strategy 2022-2026.
The statistics prove that the Kingdom is moving in the right path towards the full recovery of the sector post pandemic, she added.
Al Sairafi expressed confidence in the ability of the tourism sector to continue to record a steady increase in the number of tourists, the number of hotel nights and occupancy rates in general, with the almost complete lifting of restrictions on the movement of tourism and travel around the world as well as the current and future programmes organised by the authority in partnership with the private tourism sector.
Al Sairafi gave a presentation on the ministry’s role and efforts in meeting the goals of the 2022-2026 Tourism Strategy to the fellows. Major infrastructure projects, including the new Bahrain International Exhibition Center, as well as Qalali and Al Ghous coastal developments were highlighted.
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