Tourism Promotion

[airfort]

What are your thoughts of how to promote tourism in Bahrain

[ironbutt57]

Fix the local taxi debacle so when the tourists do arrive they dont get raped by these chaps:ok:

[repapips]

Congratulations airfort!

I never thought the words TOURISM and BAHRAIN would ever appear in one sentence!

[sirwa69]

Sack the Acting undersecretary for Tourisim who seems hell bent on stopping tourists :mad::mad:

[Da Do Ron Ron]

They need a unique selling point ........

Dig a few more holes. Use the waste to make Bahrain a complete rectangle shape............

[Che Guevara]

Have a look at this article from the Times re. Bahrain tourism etc...

http://travel.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/travel/destinations/middle_east/article2406435.ece

[gulfboy]

We need a catchy slogan....

BAH-what?
BAH-where?
BAHamas?
No, BAHrain.

[Dixons Cider]

1. Clean the place
2. Cut the causeway

[Panama Jack]

One European airline is planning it's launch (soon, it says); it's inaugural routes will be between Madrid and Bahrain, and promotes Bahrain as a mix of an ecotourism destination, and a place to get your thrills with the Formula 1:

http://www.gadair.com

Sadly, even ecotourism is at risk.

The legendary oasis' are drying up, and what is left is being destroyed by development seemingly heedless of preservation. Land reclamation destroys what little reef there is left (ruining the fishing industry; don't know how the recreational pearl diving is), and trash in the water-- many many plastic bags, etc, threaten other marine species such as ocean turtles and the dolphins (which are nice to watch when going out).

A laissez-faire approach to traffic enforcement leaves dangerous (and often drunk) drivers to prowl the roads, make traffic a nightmare, and injuring the innocent. Of course, many of the trash is strewn around the streets before it ends up in the oceans, and although Bahrain threatens up to BD 10.- fines for littering, it will be quite something if I ever see a policeman enforcing the law. The "main tourist attraction" Tree of Life has broken branches, been torched, and has graffiti on it's trunk. The sand that surrounds it is littered with plastic wrappers and water bottles.

There is (seemingly), no real strategy to developing tourism. I don't think that competing with Dubai, Doha, or Abu Dhabi are wise (or affordable). In fact, the most attractive destination in the region (Oman) does not even seek to emulate these locations. I agree with that round-abouts, a badly damaged tree in the desert, or a relatively insignificant fort (in the realm of world attractions to the discerning traveller), won't bring tourists to Bahrain. When people ask me if Bahrain is a place worthwhile visiting, I have to scratch my head a bit, and honestly say that with a 2-day stop over they have seen it all-- and Bahrain Immigration seems to agree because they give a 7-day visa to tourists.

The real tourism dollars flow in from other Khaleeji neigbors- Saudis, Kuwaits, Qatars, who come to indulge in wine and women. Yet there is plenty of navel-gazing on the ethics of this. But it begs the question on whether this practice is any more unethical than destruction of the environment and foolish misuse of resources?

That is not to say that I don't think that Bahrain isn't one of the best places to live in the Middle East (by the way, I don't recommend Doha, Dubai, or Abu Dhabi as tourism destinations either). I think thought that following the tourism bandwagon may well be folly-- more emphasis should be put into other areas, and I think that Bahrain would serve itself better by improving it's education system, fostering a "classroom" culture to provide it's people world-competitive skill-sets.

Perhaps Singapore is a model for Bahrain to try to emulate-- a similarly sized city-state to that of Bahrain, it transformed itself from a land of slums and poverty into a sustainable world-class metropolis in three decades.

[Desert Diner]

Does anybody remember the Finnish Tourists from the early 90's?:bored:

[gulfboy]

Bahrain. The dead center of Arabia.

[yankee papa]

Bahrain has virtually NO beaches for residents or tourists, if you discount Al Jazira which is never cleaned and could not be classified as a Western style beach.
When the late Amir's beach at Zellaq closed, that was it for tourism!

[ddd]

The bottom line is that Bahrain do not need Western tourists. The Saudi's and Qatari's keep Bahrain alive and they are happy with the current conditions.
They don't want more beaches.
Bahrain has nothing to offer Westerners. Taxi's are horrible. Driving is too dangerous.

[kwachon]

Been there, Done it, Soon will be a part of Saudi....

[Panama Jack]

We need a catchy slogan....

BAH-what?
BAH-where?
BAHamas?
No, BAHrain.

Perhaps ditching the link to Michael Jackson may be in order, and contracting the Venga Boys to do a catchy little twist of their tune "Brasil"


Ohhhhhh Ohe Ohh Oh
Ohhhhhh Ohe Ohh Oh
BAH-RAIN! . . . .


Bah-rain! La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La
La La La La La La La La
Bahrain!
Bahrain! La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La
La La La La La La La La
Bahrain!
Bahrain! La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La
La La La La La La La La
Bahrain!
Bahrain! La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La
La La La La La La La La
Bahrain!
Bahrain! La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La
La La La La La La La La
Bahrain!
BAH-RAIN!

:ok: :ok: :ok:

[driftdown]

Of course once the Royal Golf Course is completed then perhaps a stay could be extended by 3 or 4 days to get a few rounds in, see some sights and enjoy some quite memorable dining experiences in the evening.

[gulfboy]

Bahrain Fort, quite nice as such has a new museum.
Open until 14.00 on week days and closed on weekends.
Ha!
Stupid, incompetent, lazy f......s!

Promote tourism?
That's the wa to do it. Not!

[gulfboy]

Bahrain Fort -quite nice as such- has a new museum.
Open until 14.00 on week-days and closed on weekends.
Ha!
Stupid, incompetent, lazy f......s!

Promote tourism?
That's the way to do it. Not!