The Middle East Tourism

The tourism sector provides employment for Bahraini nationals across the kingdom in a number of roles, from management at hotels to taxi providers. As such the industry is seen as increasingly important in the government’s plan to expand the input and role of the national population in the local economy.

For the last 10 years the Bahrain Formula 1 Grand Prix has concluded with the winner being doused in waard, a local carbonated rosewater drink. In 2014 the tradition continued with the UK’s Lewis Hamilton being congratulated in this manner after winning the first-ever night...

Perched on a rocky headland just minutes drive from Khasab, in Oman’s Musandam exclave, the Atana Musandam hotel represents not only a major advance for the sultanate’s own new hospitality chain, but also a striking attempt to balance tourism development with environmental and social sustainability.

While racing camels, horses and dhows number among Oman’s traditional sports, recent years have seen the sultanate engage in a range of more internationally popular activities. Golf, sailing, football and even cricket tournaments are all part of putting the country on the global sports tourism map, raising its profile as an international leisure...

Stretching from the heart of what was once known as “Arabia Felix” (Happy Arabia) to the craggy, flooded coastlines of the Musandam Peninsula, the sultanate of Oman possesses an enormous variety of landscapes and environments. It also has a population known for its great friendliness to visitors, its tolerance of different faiths and beliefs, and for its great pride in...

With a due date of May 2015, Oman’s new National Tourism Strategy aims to address a range of key challenges in the sector. Amongst these is the ongoing issue of human resources, particularly since one of the main rationales for the high-profile focus on the sector is its ability to deliver jobs as well as tourism receipts. Yet in the area of human resources, there is...