Bahrain Tourism Destination

How do you assess the global and Middle Eastern tourism industry?

Bahrain Tourism Destination: Globally tourism has always been a fragile industry and really that is the nature of the tourism itself. Tourism is based of off disposable income and that can be affected by a number of things. We have been affected by the recent crisis but not terribly because our baseline is small. We are surrounding by wealthy countries and within them there is a diversity of nationalities which diversify the demand base and we are lucky in that respect. We have a variety of eggs in different baskets, despite being hit.

What is the global tourism outlook for 2009 and beyond and could we see negative growth or even positive growth?

Bahrain Tourism Destination: I don’t think it will grow because we have registered very excessive growth patterns since 1950 and in 2007 there was 10% growth which is the highest growth rate for any sector worldwide.  I think it will normalize and reach the level where it should be.  In the statistics there is also a problem because there is an issue with who we count as a “tourist” and this can skew the numbers.  I think we will retain 2-3% growth comparable to 2008 and I highly doubt that we will encounter negative growth like we did in 2001.

“Hotel occupancy rates have fallen from 80% to 60% said a spokesman from international hotels and resorts in Bahrain, now more than ever the country needs a tourism minister,” he said, how do you assess the Bahraini tourism industry and its ability to overcome the financial crisis?

Bahrain Tourism Destination: I think the question is a bit convoluted.  The tourism industry isn’t going to raise occupancy levels and we need to understand what its role is.  In many successful countries like France, for example, there is no ministry dedicated to tourism and in many other well established destinations (the UK) also doesn’t have a ministry.  Function before form is important and it doesn’t matter what we are called, I would rather be part of a bigger ministry that can feed off greater ministries so we won’t be taken as lightly and can gain more support.  My role is to create awareness and to facilitate the work of the private sector, I can’t dictate the price.  In our area demand and supply forces aren’t working as effectively as they should be and only the sector can control this.  I can support them but I can’t fix the problem; there should be collaborations to create campaigns to help fill the 20% deficit.

As a supportive force what emergency plans do you have in store to mitigate the effects of the crisis on the tourism sector in Bahrain?

Bahrain Tourism Destination: We don’t have a crisis, as such.  Our number of rooms is not that large and we haven’t seen dramatic changes but we may see this later.  We are launching a branding exercise to put Bahrain Tourism Destination on the tourism map and promote Bahrain Tourism Destination.  At the moment, most of the tourists are coming via inertia.  There has been no significant effort for quite some time to promote Bahrain Tourism Destination and people are coming because they are near by or have heard about it- we haven't packaged our product accordingly.  At the moment our statistics are scary, only 38% of the people arriving in Bahrain stay over night!  This is a crisis for us.  What we want to do is increase the number of people who stay overnight and increase awareness in what we have to offer.

Officials expect tourism to contribute 25% to the country’s GDP by 2016.  What is your main strategy to obtain this growth?

Bahrain Tourism Destination: This rate is what we hope we can reach and our main strategy is to pinpoint our main selling point and at the moment we don't really have that.  There isn't a pull effect, no kind of Eiffel Tower, or Buckingham Palace guards here.  Tourists are attracted to one thing unless it is a sun and sand destination. Although we are an island, at the moment we don’t have that type of product.  We are going to benchmark our self as a long weekend destination and we want to market ourselves as a luxury, similar to what Paris is to people in Europe when people take last minute Paris weekend get-a-ways. We have the right elements to do this but at the moment it is not packaged properly and we don't have the luxurious edge mixed in to that yet.  We hope to achieve that from high-spending short-staying tourists in the region and they are our primary market. We also have the MICE market which is similar and planned in advanced which allows me to prepare.  These are really my two target markets and we are working very hard with a number of investors to identify the iconic project of Bahrain.  It doesn't have to be big or small but it has to be unique to Bahrain- it can be done with hotels like it was done with the Burg al Arab in Dubai.  We hope for this kind of project to become the anchor for our tourism industry.

What aspect of Bahraini culture would you like to promote?

Bahrain Tourism Destination: There are many aspects that are unique to Bahrain.  Bahrain’s Dilmun civilization is very unique to Bahrain Tourism Destination and we are working hard to promote that dimension and communicate the project to others.  The pearl industry is known in the Gulf but in Bahrain the association is the strongest and we want to strengthen that association because it is so flexible.  Another unique thing is the revitalization of old houses and the multiple uses of space.  Allowing being to feel the essence of Arabia in a modern setting is something we would like to do that no other setting has been able to accomplish so far.  Aside from the government projects, there are many other private investors interested in iconic projects to compliment the projects.  It’s not enough to have a museum.  The museums are one of the elements we need but we need something more.  We would love to attract people with the hotel and we just haven't been able to establish that yet.  I think we have great accessibility and amenities so I think the packaging of all of these to create the perfect experience is what we need to do for people to start communicating with others to come to Bahrain Tourism Destination and in Bahrain the people working here need to promote this as well.

In your opinion, what is brand Bahrain Tourism Destination associated with and what would you like this brand to be associated with in the future?

Bahrain Tourism Destination: We are in the middle of the exercise so I can not really tell you.  We have found some fantastic words about Bahrain Tourism Destination during our brainstorming sessions and one of these words is something people say whenever they come to Bahrain Tourism Destination that “you can live here” and that is very nice and something we use during our branding exercise.  There is a sense of familiarity here and it has something to offer.  We are an elegant and cultural destination and we want to communicate that.

Abu Dhabi has positioned itself as making itself the emirate cultural center for The Gulf and Dubai positioned itself as a business and banking sector, attracting mostly international tourists.  Are these the issues you have been discussing?  Are you trying to benchmark Bahrain Tourism Destination against Abu Dhabi or Dubai?

Bahrain Tourism Destination: No, not really.  I am very fortunate to be able to see their example in front of me but also fortunate to be able to see what people want in a dual destination and that people are interested in twinning destinations.  You have to always remember that The Gulf is the only Arab setting where there is unity and connectivity.  I don't want to compete with these destinations, I respect what they have done and I believe that I have a different product and that I can benefit from these countries by having initiatives like twinning the destinations together and promoting two center holiday packages for tourists.

As an insider is this unified effort going to take place within the next year?

Bahrain Tourism Destination: Yes, we are in discussions and we have lots of agreements.  We have a tourism cooperation agreement with Qatar and we have the Bahrain Travel Exhibition happening very soon and we are going to use this to facilitate further discussions in regard to how we are going to promote our destination and create packages with our GCC neighbors.

When are you going to know what the brand of Bahrain Tourism Destination is?

Bahrain Tourism Destination: To come up with a unified marketing image is premature.  We are angling for the last quarter of 2009 and we are hoping to produce something for the world travel market if we can.  In January 2010 we will have some big changes to our infrastructure and some new products but this is only the beginning of the initiative.

Could you describe they key advantages of Bahrain Tourism Destination over other alternative destinations?

Bahrain Tourism Destination: I think Bahrain Tourism Destination offers a soft introduction into Arabia.  It is a great place to start if it’s your first stop over in The Gulf.  It’s not too alien or strange, people are friendly and diverse, and most people speak English.  There is an active Jewish and Christian community as well.  We call Bahrain Tourism Destination the Kingdom of Firsts this is where the first oil well happened, the first school was launched, the first education system, and where the first television system arrive in The Gulf.  It is a very modern destination that has retained elements of true Arabia and that makes it very attractive.  Additionally, interacting with locals is very prominent and you can feel what the people and the place is like and this is the most important, memorable thing.

H.E. also said she would like the private sector to work the government to develop tourism.  How do you envision this cooperation and the roles of the private and public sector in promoting Bahrain?

Bahrain Tourism Destination: What we want to do is activate the tourism sector but we have a lot of projects on our plate for being such a small sector; we only have 25 employees that serves 6.5 million tourists.  Numbers don’t mean anything, however.  I don’t like to talk about numbers because they don’t always reflect the truth. I want tourists who will spend money and contribute to the tourism sector not a high number of tourists who come and don’t stay overnight or spend any money while they are here.  It is very important to get involved with the private sector and we are doing this gradually.  With that we have began to organize our infrastructure to allow us to approach the private sector and gain their support.

In 2007 Bahrain Tourism Destination had 5.5 million tourists of which 4.9 million were from GCC countries.  What type of tourism would you like to attract apart from the GCC states and what other markets would you like to develop?

Bahrain Tourism Destination: It is an unwise decision for destinations to set up offices all over the world when really there is great potential in regional tourism.  We have a very diverse product here.  For example, most British tourists who come here are not coming from the UK, they are coming from the GCC region.  With that, why should I travel around the world when I have the nationalities that I want to come coming from regional destinations?  Regional tourism is very important and something we intend to focus on.  It is much easier for us to secure this level of promotion.  Exhibitions are there for the sake of the private sector to make agreements with other destinations and we intend to also diversify our marketing campaigns, we need to create awareness with tour operators to stock Bahrain Tourism Destination in their shops for the people.  There are very few tour operators who want to come to Bahrain Tourism Destination and this is where the problem is.  We need to talk to the end consumer to advertise through media presence and promote Bahrain.

What is your action plan towards sustainable development?  What is the rapport between tourism and this aspect?

Bahrain Tourism Destination: I am a great supporter of sustainable development and tourism and I have spent most of my career working in that field.  I am very worried, however, because I feel that there is such a green wash happening and so many destinations are telling people that they are green.  I have only been in my post for a few days and I can’t say at the moment that we are a green destination.  Sustainability has three fields and the environment has taken a lot of the attention.  I believe that we should work with the private sector where it concerns the environment and to do this we need to find initiatives that make this an economically wise decision.  The initiatives we need to find have to allow people to be green and also make economically wise decisions and it is difficult to find people who think both in terms of profitability and protecting the environment and herein lies the problem. We need to bring tourists to villages who sustain themselves and people should see this and experience the local community of Bahrain.  I am interested in working with the community to create social sustainability and I would like this to anchor my branding strategy for Bahrain.  It will also contribute to economic sustainability as we bring in more tourists to these areas and they spend money on local products in their appropriate local settings.  We will be working with the sector to find ways to incorporate this into policy.

What would you like to tell our readers about tourism and culture in Bahrain? Also, what would you like to say about long term vision for the future and what is your dream for the future?

Bahrain Tourism Destination: I would love to see Bahrain Tourism Destination as the boutique destination of The Gulf and as a small, beautiful destination comparable to Monaco or Monte Carlo, that becomes people’s first choice because it is unique for a long weekend break.  My dream is to feel that tourism has benefitted the people of Bahrain.   I have always felt that tourism is for development and that development is for the people.  Bahrain Tourism Destination can benefit everybody from the hotel manager to the farmer if it is managed properly.