Saudi marketing deal can boost Bahrain tourism

Bahrain is to link up with Saudi Arabia to link the two Kingdoms into a single tourism destination.

The countries have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to collaborate in attracting visitors, a move that is likely to mean more traffic for their respective national airlines.

Any growth in tourism to Bahrain is likely to bring benefits to national carrier Gulf Air.

The new agreement with Saudi Arabia gives it the opportunity to tap into what is expected to be a surging flow of tourists to the home of Islam in the next few years. Marketing the two countries as a single destination will give Gulf Air the opportunity to fly tourists from Saudi to Bahrain as part of two-centre holidays.

The MoU will also enable Bahrain to benefit from the huge sums that Saudi Arabia is pumping into its tourist industry in its efforts to make the Kingdom a major attraction for visitors. The agreement sets the scene for the two countries to experience an exponential surge in their respective tourism sectors.

The MoU was signed in Manama by Bahrain’s tourism minister, Fatima bint Jaafar Al Sairafi and her Saudi Arabian counterpart, Ahmed Al Khateeb.

It establishes a framework for combining efforts to market and promote tourism activities and programmes in both countries and will involve coordinating joint events to attract visitors, expanding specialised sectors, and collaborating with tourism agencies and regional/international tour operators to create shared tourist destinations.

As part of the plan, Bahrain will pitch more frequently to host international conferences, concerts and sporting events. New leisure offerings will also aim to persuade business visitors to extend their stays.

However, even the new deal may not result in easy business for Bahrain, according to international business and geopolitical consultancy, Oxford Analytica.

“Tourism development forms a key plank of Bahrain’s long-term economic growth strategy,” it wrote, in an analysis of the MoU.

“However, almost all its Gulf peers are pursuing the same goal, armed with often-superior cultural, natural or financial advantages. This makes a complementary approach, such as Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)-wide visas, rather than a competing proposition, a pragmatic necessity for Manama.”