Tourism

Known in ancient times as Dilmun, the inspiration for the Garden of Eden, and more recently as Ard Million Nakhla, or the Land of a Million Date Palms, Bahrain has been welcoming visitors for centuries. In 2014 tourism receipts reached $1.4bn, accounting for 4.2% of the country’s GDP, and they are forecast to grow by 4.9% annually between 2015 and 2025. Under the Bahrain Tourism Strategy 2015-18, a new Supreme Council for Tourism was created that aims to help guide development of the sector. Hotels and serviced apartments, known as “aparthotels”, are a segment forecast to expand by compound annual growth rates of 15.2% and 11.4%, respectively, between 2013 and 2018. The MICE segment meanwhile is another important component of the industry, contributing $400m in 2013 alone thanks to major events such as the Jewellery Arabia fair, which attracts more than 50,000 visitors.