The Kingdom’s fast-growing leisure and tourism sector has attracted more than $13 billion in infrastructure investments across 14 prominent, growth-boosting projects that support Bahrain’s broader economic diversification.
The industry continues to demonstrate its dominance as one of the nation’s leading GDP contributors, currently contributing 6.3 percent and set to grow further as tourism numbers are expected to reach 15 million by 2020. In 2017, Bahrain welcomed 11.4 million visitors.
“The tourism sector continues to be one of the Kingdom’s highest industry performers,” said Dr. Simon Galpin, Managing Director of Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB), with Bahrain experiencing a tourism visitor increase of 11.9% in 2017.
“To support this growth, more than $13 billion of Bahrain’s $32 billion investment pipeline has been secured for the sector, and we look forward to welcoming more guests to Bahrain’s ever-growing, diverse tourism ecosystem,” he added.
To support growing international visitor traffic, the new Bahrain International Airport is undergoing major expansion, increasing the airport’s capacity to 14 million people per year by 2020. The $1.1bn investment will include a passenger area that covers 210,000sqm, four times that of the current space.
Bahrain is also rapidly adding new attractions to its tourism and leisure offering: including the introduction of new retail and entertainment destinations, such as Dilmunia Mall and The Avenues Mall; the $2.5bn development of Bahrain Bay, a luxury, mixed-use urban leisure and retail destination; and Bahrain Marina, a 300,000sqm waterfront development that includes a five-star hotel resort and suites, and a line of recreational leisure facilities for families and young professionals.
This growth is an important part of Bahrain’s broader economic diversification strategy as the business-friendly hub creates new opportunities for domestic international investment – from tourism and retail to healthcare, manufacturing and financial services.
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