Tag Archives: Bahrain

Hotels.com has recently refurbished and improved the functionality of its Middle Eastern websites, in both English and Arabic, to improve both usability and performance. Hotels.com already serves millions of customers globally through 89 localised websites in 39 languages, and is continuously building its portfolio of properties with the latest hotel deals for popular destinations like the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar. Hotels.com offers an unsurpassed hotel booking experience and unbeatable Secret Prices to Hotels.com™ Rewards members, making it ideally positioned to cater to the hotel booking needs of the regional market. “We know that speed is important to our customers and we want to provide fastest booking experience possible in all languages on desktop and mobile. In fact, one in every three bookings on Hotels.com globally is now made on mobile. Speed and convenience are crucial to delivering unsurpassed experiences for our customers,” commented Michael Korkia, Senior Marketing Manager EMEA for the Hotels.com brand.

The Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BTEA) has launched its new wedding identity “Island Wedding”. The new identity aims to promote the Kingdom of Bahrain as a wedding destination making the Kingdom, the first country in the Gulf region, to launch a dedicated platform focused on showcasing its offerings to the international community. Commenting on the launch, BTEA Advisor, Dr. Ali Follad: “The launch of the identity “Island Wedding” comes in line with the authority’s effort in promoting the Kingdom as a wedding destination aimed at attracting couples to host their wedding in the Kingdom. We have a robust hospitality sector that is appealing to many couples looking for a destination wedding.” The identity was designed carefully by a group of international experts from the wedding sector in order to showcase the Kingdom’s main offering as a wedding destination. The main aim is to offer newlyweds a variety of options in terms of hosting unforgettable celebrations and spending their honeymoon at the best hotels and resorts in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The logo was inspired by an engagement ring and the lines on the diamond portrayed in the logo represent the services and products offered by the Kingdom. A dedicated website along with social media channels was also launched. The BTEA is taking part in Jewelry Arabic and their features 14 participants representing various five-star hotels and wedding planners in order to deliver exceptional and integrated experience for couples looking to host a wedding in Bahrain. Some of the participating wedding planners include Lala Bella, IQ Art, Jandal Group, and Leaves. As for the participating hotels are ART Rotana, Amwaj Islands, Gulf Hotel, Crown Plaza, Sofitel Bahrain, Ritz-Carlton Bahrain, Al …

Gulf Air, the national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain, has announced the addition of the Sri Lankan capital city, Colombo, to its network of destinations with the upcoming launch of five weekly flights to/from Bandaranaike International Airport from 19th January, 2017. This latest addition to Gulf Air’s network is in line with the airline’s business strategy which sees it strengthening its position as one of the Middle East’s largest network carriers, while serving key global destinations that provide strong business and tourism links to the Kingdom of Bahrain and the region. With this addition, Gulf Air’s network will serve 41 cities in 24 countries spanning three continents.

The Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BTEA) aims to showcase the Kingdom’s rich link to the sea tying it to several Bahraini sea-related traditions and cultural activities. Last week they witnessed more than 4,000 people attended the ‘Sea Festival’ held at Bahrain Bay as part of ‘Manama Capital of Gulf Tourism’ calendar of events.  The Sea Festival, running until Saturday 29th October, has attracted scores of residents and visitors of all ages who enjoyed a fun-filled family experience through the exciting sea-related activities like the jet ski and the modern virtual reality games.  The festival includes a series of activities including a multimedia photo gallery and video display that demonstrates the history of pearl diving in addition to several workshops that showcases the sea-related handicrafts which includes the making of fishing and diving equipment. As it also features a Dhow and Boat display that is lit-up with the use of decorative lighting.

A delegation from the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the ‘Seatrade Cruise Med’ held between September 21-23, in Tenerife, Spain, with an aim of further promoting the Kingdom as a tourism destination. The delegation included Yousif Al Khan, Director of Tourism Marketing and Promotions at the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority and Amal Jamal from the Economic Development Board (EDB). The Bahraini representative’s participation in the event came as a part of a comprehensive team representing the Gulf region under the name of ‘Cruise Arabia’. “The main aim behind our participation in the Seatrade Cruise Med is to promote the Kingdom as a destination for cruises in order to increase the number of inbound tourists and further develop the industry and overall national economy,” said Khan. Further commenting on the participation, Executive Director Marketing and Communications at the EDB, Vivian Jamal said, “Last year, 40,000 tourists visited Bahrain through cruise ships. The Seatrade Cruise Med is one of the most important global cruise events and is the right platform to promote Bahrain as a destination among exhibitors from all around the globe.” The participation is in line’s the Kingdom’s tourism strategy launched earlier this year under the brand, ‘Ours. Yours’. The strategy, launched by the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority in cooperation with the EDB, focuses on four pillars; awareness, attraction, access and accommodation. A key integral component of the strategy is to develop the sea ports in the Kingdom in order to further attract yachts and cruise ships.

According to sources the Bahrain airport expansion work is to start next month (October). The project will boost passenger capacity to 14 million with an estimated cost of $1.1 billion. The foundation work includes the transfer of Bahrain Aviation Fuelling Company facilities, the building of a main access security gate, the setting up of a new fire station, and the establishment of new staff car parks. It is one of the biggest projects ever held under the Gulf Development Fund. More details to be released soon.

The Kingdom of Bahrain has launched its new tourism identity under the slogan of ‘Ours. Yours’, a step to further develop the tourism sector as a main contributor to the national economy. The new identity was unveiled by the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority to the regional market at the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) held in Dubai, United Arab of Emirates. The Kingdom plans to revamp its access points for foreign visitors including the modernisation program for the Bahrain International Airport which will result in increasing the capacity to 14 million visitors annually and port facilities for yachts that arrive in Bahrain from other countries. The tourism sector’s direct contribution to the GDP in the Kingdom of Bahrain is around $700 million – around 3.6 per cent – according to the statistics published for the year 2015, an increase of up to 9 per cent when compared to 2014. It is also expected that the tourism sector revenues will increase to $1 billion by 2020. The industry currently provides more than 31.5 thousand jobs, accounting for 4 per cent of the total workforce in Bahrain. The total investment in the travel and tourism sector in the Kingdom last year amounted to 280 million.