Bahrain will host a month-long shopping festival from January 19 aimed at celebrating the kingdom’s hospitality and tourism offering.

The third-edition of the Bahrain Shopping Festival – Shop Bahrain - is set to be the biggest nationwide festival with a unique line-up of events and entertainment, a fantastic shopping experience and numerous prizes, organisers said.

The event will run till February 18.

The festival, co-organized by the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BTEA) and Tamkeen, is held in cooperation with partners from the public and private sector such as Gulf Air, Batelco and YK Almoayyed.

Last year, over 20 shopping malls took part in the festival resulting in a BD11 million worth of shopping along with a growth in the number of tourists from the GCC. The second edition also witnessed an increase in the daily sales revenues by 30 per cent when compared to the results posted by the first edition. The festival also offered employment opportunities by directly and indirectly hiring 175 Bahrainis.

“The third-edition of the festival aims to further drive the growth of the tourism and retail sector through a close cooperation with the hospitality sector and shopping malls. This will contribute to the development of the national economy whilst attracting tourists from the Gulf region,” said BTEA chief executive Shaikh Khalid bin Humood Al Khalifa.

“The first two editions of the festival were a huge success and the third edition is the continuation of this achievement,” he said adding that, “the organising committee of Shop Bahrain has been working hand-in-hand with its partners from the public and private sectors in order to ensure the success of the upcoming festival in line with BTEA’s Tourism Strategy and in accordance with Bahrain’s Vision 2030.

“The Festival will also be held during the school holiday which will directly result in an influx of tourists from the region. This will positively impact the retail sector, drive the occupancy of the hotels and support the airline industry along with other service-led industries. The activities and entertainment held during Shop Bahrain will further position the kingdom as an ideal tourist destination. This year the line-up will be bigger and better,” he said.

The kingdom’s tourism strategy aims to increase the average tourist expenditure in Bahrain to reach BD136 per day by the year 2018. Shop Bahrain will be a main driver as it will offer tourists a 30-day celebration catered to the entire family.

Shop Bahrain director Yousif Mohammed Al Khan said: “The festival this year will create an unforgettable calendar of events for the entire family. We will be creating a dedicated Festival City along with a nationwide Taste Tour and an exciting range of in-mall activities. The shopping offering coupled with a vibrant hospitality sector will further position Bahrain as an idea destination.”   

The calendar of events includes a ‘Festival City’ located at the Bahrain Bay which will host a variety of activities for all age groups.  Other highlights include the return of the ‘Taste Tour’ which aims to showcase the mouth-watering restaurants in addition to raffle draws offering visitors and residents the opportunity to win big and amazing prizes.

Tamkeen chief executive Dr Ebrahim Mohammed Janahi praised the previous economic achievement the shopping festival has created.  

Dr Janahi added: “As a catalyst for economic development, Tamkeen sought to cooperate with BTEA in this year’s edition and the following two years to promote the tourism sector in Bahrain and attract visitors to the Kingdom which will help in stimulating the retail sector further. We also foresee generating employment opportunities for Bahraini youth.”

Shoppers and visitors can learn more about "Shop Bahrain" through the website: www.shopbahrain.com - TradeArabia News Service