The Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) recently revealed investment in Bahrains tourism infrastructure reached over $13bn. The figure covers 14 prominent projects that will further boost growth in the Kingdoms tourism and leisure sector.
The sector witnessed rapid growth in the past year, with the total number of tourists visiting the Kingdom increasing by 12.8% in the first nine months of 2017. The Kingdom is also witnessing further enhancement to its tourism infrastructure to support this growth, which plays a significant role in Bahrains economic diversification efforts.
Dr Simon Galpin, managing director of Bahrain EDB, said: The total number of tourists visiting the country has reached 8.7 million during the first nine months of this year, a significant number considering our resident population of only 1.5 million people.
The tourism sector is one of the key investment sectors we recognise as having a strong competitive advantage for Bahrain. It contributes 6.3% to the countrys GDP, and is set to grow significantly, as the number of visitors and leisure activities increase. Bahrain continues to reaffirm its position as a tourism destination of choice with a number of new hotels, retail and leisure developments currently underway.
The tourism investment projects are part of Bahrains large-scale infrastructure development across a wide range of sectors and are valued at over $32bn. This public-private sector investment consists of $10bn of government funding, $7.5bn under the GCC Development Fund, and $15bn worth of investment in the private sector.
As part of these developments, Bahrain International Airport is undergoing a $1.1bn modernisation programme, set to increase passenger capacity from nine to 14 million per year by 2020. This will go hand in hand with the new five and four-star hotels and resorts in the tourism development pipeline that will cater to current and future demand.
Other infrastructure investment projects include the development of a number of shopping malls such as Dilmunia Mall and the Marassi Galleria shopping complex, to join the recently-opened $159mn Avenues Mall at Bahrain Bay.
Furthermore, Bahrains tourism strategy also extends to medical-tourism projects through King Abdullah Medical City, and mixed-use real estate projects such as Bahrain Bay, Bahrain Marina, Diyar Al Muharraq, Water Garden City, Dilmunia, and Marassi Al Bahrain where Emaar Hospitality brands such as The Address Hotel and Vida are under construction.