Gearing Up
With race day rapidly approaching, Bahrain is preparing itself for the 2006 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix. After two successful years playing host to Formula One’s big race, Bahrain is stepping up a gear in its attempt to use the event to attract visitors and international attention. Ticket sales have surpassed previous years, and the kingdom’s hoteliers are looking forward to a bumper week.
Formula One first came to Bahrain in 2004 on the successful completion of the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC). This was the brainchild of the Crown Prince, Sheikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, who intended to use the BIC and the Grand Prix to promote Bahrain and to give a boost to the country’s tourism sector.
The plan has, to a large extent, worked. In its inaugural year, the Bahrain Grand Prix is estimated to have been worth some $110m to the kingdom’s economy. This year, that figure should pass $140m due to the higher ticket sales and increased visitor numbers and because of a series of events being organised around the main race by BIC and the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) as part of the “Yalla Bahrain! [Let’s Go Bahrain!]†festival.
Bahrain’s contract with Formula One includes an exclusivity clause, ensuring that Bahrain is the only country in the Middle East to host the event. In a region of car fanatics, this guarantees the kingdom a large number of visitors from neighbouring countries. In 2005, the Grand Prix had more than 77,257 admissions, 54% of them from Bahrain, 25% from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) area and a further 20% were international visitors, many from the wider Middle East. This year, Bahrain has been selected as the first race of Formula One’s season, and according to the BIC, the added prestige has had a direct positive effect on international sales.
The prestigious date will also guarantee an even bigger viewing audience – organisers expect a staggering 850m worldwide. For Bahrain, this kind of attention is extremely valuable, placing the tiny state firmly on the international map and connecting its name with an event steeped in glamour and style.
Of course, Bahrain’s low international profile has also hindered international ticket sales in the Grand Prix’s first two years in the country. The lack of other tourist facilities in the kingdom has also been a hindrance for event organisers not only of the Grand Prix, but of other sporting events such as golf tournaments and equestrian racing too.
Bahrain had just 13,000 hotel rooms in 2005, meaning that space is severely restricted during events such as the Grand Prix. Many of the kingdom’s hotel properties are also tired and cater to the lower end of the market. While Bahrain boasts a number of five-star brands, there is only one hotel, the Ritz Carlton, in the super luxury league.
Other facilities, such as beach clubs, are also surprisingly lacking in a country that has had international visitors since the 1930s.
Meanwhile, there has been a lack of co-ordination, until now, when it comes to promoting Bahrain’s various sports clubs, cultural events, museums and historical sites. Event organisers complain that there is not enough to keep visitors interested and entertained, and persuading people to travel great distances for a specific event is more difficult if they cannot make a holiday out of it.
In the medium and long term, Bahrain will benefit from a massive building programme that is currently underway throughout the kingdom, particularly in the hotels sector. The Directorate of Tourism Affairs at the Ministry of Information says that room numbers will increase to 25,000 by the end of 2006 as a raft of new hotels and serviced apartments, which are popular with families from the GCC states, come on-stream.
Many of these rooms will be in the three- and four-star categories, but there are also a number of planned five-star developments. Land reclamation is currently close to completion at the site of a new Shangri La, next door to the Ritz Carlton. A Four Seasons is expected to be the centre piece of a recently announced mega-project called Bahrain Bay.
Other high profile developments such as the Amwaj Islands and Durrat al-Bahrain will add to the quality of the country’s real estate offer, including hotels, commercial and residential facilities, marinas and beaches. Inland, Riffa Views and al-Areen will not only provide residents with beautifully landscaped gated communities; they will offer visitors attractive facilities built around current tourist attractions, the Riffa Golf Club and the al-Areen Wildlife Park. Al-Areen will also boast a Banyan Tree spa resort.
For this year, however, the BIC has teamed up with the EDB to create the “Yalla Bahrain! Festivalâ€, a series of events designed to bring the carnival spirit of the Grand Prix to ordinary Bahrainis. Every highway and many of Bahrain’s buildings, including the airport, are decked out in banners and flags promoting the race, and throughout March events have been staged across the country, from autograph signings to high speed parades, air shows, fireworks displays and themed parties at Bahrain’s nightspots, climaxing in the “Yalla Bahrain! Spectacular†the night before the race.
It is hoped that all this should secure Bahrain’s long-term future not only as the host of the Grand Prix in the Middle East, but also as a tourist destination in its own right. The kingdom, once known as the Pearl of the Gulf, clearly intends to retrieve its coveted past status.
Oxford Business Group :: Bahrain, Volume 65 :: 10 Mar ’06