Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BTEA) recently organised ‘Arab Tourism Day,’ under the theme “Tourism & the Development of Local Communities” in capital Manama.

The event was held at the Arcapita Building under the patronage of Zayed bin Rashid Al Zayani, Minister of Industry, Commerce, and Tourism.

The celebration falls under the umbrella of the Arab Tourism Organization (ATO), a part of the Arab League.

The event kicked-off with the screening of a video produced by the ATO demonstrating the voyage of renowned scholar ‘Ibn Battuta’ and his significant historic role during his travels and excursions around the world which enriched the Arab culture.

This celebration is also significant in that it coincides with the birth date of the scholar, said the event organisers.

The event was attended by representatives from the hospitality industry, touristic restaurants, national carrier Gulf Air, and other industry representatives.

“It gives me great pleasure to commemorate this significant initiative that aims to strengthen the role of the tourism sector as a contributing element to the economy in the Arab region.

This initiative supports the Kingdom’s vision to diversify the economy and revitalize the non-oil sector. Moreover, it aims to showcase Bahrain as a regional and international touristic hub,” remarked Al Zayani.

"The kingdom, represented by BTEA, has always stressed on the importance of shifting the tourism sector to be one of the main contributors to the economy. It has also implemented measures that aim to increase the sector’s current contribution to the GDP to reach 7 per cent by year 2018,” he added.

Following the video, there was a presentation by Shaikh Khaled bin Humood Al Khalifa, the chief executive of BTEA, who revealed the latest statistics released by the ATO about the tourism industry in the Arab countries and the importance of the development of this vibrant industry in the journey of sustainable economic development.

“We are delighted to celebrate the ‘Arab Tourism Day’, an initiative that supports BTEA’s objectives of simulating intra-regional tourism and fostering industry activity that will serve to further economic opportunities,” noted Shaikh Khaled.
 
Shaikh Khaled also highlighted the annual growth rate of the key tourism sector development indicators for the year 2015 to 2016.

According to him, there was a sharp increase in the number of visitors to the kingdom which hit 12.3 million in 2016 compared to 11.6 million visitors the previous year, thus registering an annual growth rate of six per cent.

He also pointed out the increase in the ratio of the number of hotel guests, which rose from 1.2 million guests to 1.3 million guests, recording an increase of 5 per cent.

Shaikh Khaled said the rise in the key indicators had a positive impact on the rate of tourist residency, recording an annual rise of 21.7 per cent to reach 2.8 days from its previously recorded 2.3 days.

"This directly impacted the rate of tourism's contribution to the annual non-oil GDP of the Kingdom by 37 per cent, which contributed to 4.6 per cent of the non-oil GDP for the year 2015, increasing to the rate of 6.3 per cent in the year 2016," he added.-TradeArabia News Service