Bahraini.TV

Present Strength, Future Directions

by mahmood on 23/06/09 at 5:35 pm · email  · print  

Bahrain’s tourism industry looks set to consolidate its already strong position at the heart of the Kingdom’s economy, though there is some debate as to what direction the sector should take.

According to the latest study by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), the sector will contribute around $1.7bn to Bahrain’s economy this year, representing 12.1% of GDP, rising to $4.9bn or 14.5% by 2019. Bahrain’s tourism industry is expected to grow by 6.5% a year between 2009 and 2019, placing the Kingdom 17th on the council’s global ranking for rates of expansion and third-fastest in the region, behind Qatar and Oman.

Importantly for a government trying to increase job opportunities for Bahraini nationals, in 10 years’ time travel and tourism will provide employment for 78,000 people, 17.5% of the workforce, compared to the already high 13.7% or 50,000 positions currently in existence, the WTTC predicts.

The report also underscored the success Bahrain has achieved in developing the sector and its importance to the economy compared to the rest of the region. By contrast, the tourism and travel trade contributes 9.6% to the GDP of Middle Eastern countries, a figure the WTTC estimates will remain almost unchanged over the coming decade, while the sector provides employment to 3.1% of the region’s workforce, less than a quarter of the rate in Bahrain.

While the WTTC report highlights the bright medium-term prospects for Bahrain’s tourism industry, the immediate outlook – perhaps understandably given the global economic climate – is more measured, with a real GDP contraction for the travel-and-tourism economy expected to be -3.1% this year before bouncing back in 2010.

Though Bahrain’s tourism industry may face a moderate downturn in 2009, it will fare far better than the sector across the region, where the WTTC envisages a contraction of 8.7% and average annual expansion of 4.3% up until 2019.

And whilst the sector is tipped for significant growth there are other issues currently up for debate.

A core factor underpinning Bahrain’s appeal as a destination, at least for visitors from neighboring countries, has been its comparatively relaxed atmosphere. Though attracting tourists from more conservative states such as Saudi Arabia, with some estimates putting the numbers of Saudi visitors at around 4m last year, there has been debate in Bahrain as to whether the current face of the tourism industry is in keeping with the image the country wishes to project.

The sale of alcohol and the staging of live entertainment has already been banned in Bahrain’s one- and two-star hotels, a ban that affects 39 out of some 120 hotels in the Kingdom. At the beginning of May, the Bahraini parliament voted in favour of a motion banning the import, possession, sale or production of alcohol. This includes all public sales of alcohol at hotels, restaurants, nightclubs and off-licence premises. The cabinet, which has the final say on whether the motion will be passed into law, has yet to decide if the total ban will be adopted.

Supporters of the motion believe that Bahrain’s tourist industry will continue to prosper without alcohol, saying that there should be more emphasis on family-based amenities.

Detractors claim the ban, if enforced, would cost jobs throughout the industry and have a knock-on effect throughout the economy, hitting the food, retail and other services sectors.

According to Sheikh Mohammed bin Essa Al Khalifa, the chief executive of Bahrain’s Economic Development Board, it is more likely a middle ground will be found.

“Nobody is talking about banning alcohol completely,” Sheik Mohammed said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal on June 8, adding that it would be good for Bahrain to put limits on some forms of entertainment.

“We’d like to move away from the bachelor tourism to family tourism, where there is a higher spend per person,” he said.

The $3bn Qatar-Bahrain Causeway connecting the Kingdom with Qatar, scheduled to be completed in 2013, will certainly enhance Bahrain’s appeal as a tourist destination, cutting traveling time from the neighbouring country to just 30 minutes. The planned rail link that will run alongside the highway will, when integrated into a wider regional network, can only boost the attraction of Bahrain as an easily accessible destination.