Saeed Haider
THE uniqueness of Bahrain’s hospitality industry lies in its true projection of its theme: leisure with business. The island kingdom, which once was the hub of off shore banking has now successfully transformed itself as a perfect destination for businessmen who want to conduct business in neighboring Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE.
According to Bahraini Ministry of Tourism the Gulf State receives four million tourists a year. Most visitors are from Arab states of the Arabian Gulf but there are an increasing number of tourists from outside the region.
Several tourist guides describe Bahrain as “an excellent introduction to the Gulf” because of its rich Arab heritage and the reputation that it used to enjoy as a unique blend of modernity and heritage. Bahrain continues to enjoy the status of safe haven for businessmen from around the globe who want to conduct business either in Bahrain or neighboring Saudi Arabia.
Businessmen are attracted to Bahrain for its open policy, relaxed visa
rules and diversified investment opportunities. But what adds to the State’s attraction is the ambience of Bahrain, and its focus on leisure including sports, entertainment, health, beauty and water a sports. All these coupled with, local culture and the relaxed friendly atmosphere makes Bahrain a perfect gateway to Saudi Arabia, which is connected with the island by a 27-kms bridge over the sea.
In addition to businessmen from across the world, Bahrain also attracts sizable tourists from neighboring Saudi Arabia. In addition to business, Saudi and expatriates from across the bridge frequent Bahrain on a weekly basis not just for shopping and leisure but also for health and beauty care.
All the graded hotels in the country take pride in their health clubs, gymnasiums and SPAs, Each hotel in the island Kingdom compete with the other on its facilities of SPA, gymnasium and sporting activities. If one boasts of largest Turkish Hammam (bath) in the country then the other takes pride in its Thalassa SPA.
“It is a fact that all five star hotels have more or less common facilities. But here we compete on the health clubs and SPAs and every day the clients are becoming more aware of the need of such facilities,” commented a general manager of a newly opened five star hotel in Manama.
