Bahraini tourists to Turkish destinations on the rise

Turkey has continued to strengthen its position as a popular travel destination for Bahrani travellers, it has emerged. In the first few months of this year, the country registered a big 30 per cent jump in the number of Bahraini visitors, when compared to that a year ago. According to the latest statistics released by the Turkish authorities, 20,792 people from Bahrain visited Turkey in the first two months of this year alone.  

Salih Ozer, attaché of Culture and Information, Turkey to the UAE, said, “I am happy to see the growth trend continues this year, despite headwinds in the global economy.”  “Turkey remains an oasis of peace and tranquillity and offers a large number of tourist attractions. It offers greater value for money when compared to other popular tourist destinations across the world. Turkey and the Gulf countries share centuries-old social, cultural and economic ties.

The repeated visits of the friendly visitors from the GCC countries help fuel the growth of our economy,” he said. Meanwhile, the number of UAE nationals visiting Turkey recorded 11.28pc growth in the first two months of 2019, to 3,975, according to the latest data released by the Turkish Consulate General Cultural and Info Office in Dubai.   Separately, the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibition Authority (BTEA) announced that it has succeeded in attracting more than 10,000 Russian tourists through the charter programme operated by the world’s leading travel and tourism company; Coral Travel.

This was part of the BTEA’s efforts to attract tourists from new markets to the Kingdom of Bahrain. The first charter flight was launched by Coral Travel from Moscow to the Kingdom at the end of October 2018, with an average of two weekly flights. Shaikh Khaled bin Humood Al Khalifa, CEO of the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority, said, “Through the cooperative efforts between Coral Travel and BTEA, the total number of Russian tourists has reached to 10,075 over the past six months alone.”

“The tourists’ occupancy rate is currently at 9 nights, resulting in an increase in the hotel occupancy rate in the Kingdom; and the total number of tourist nights has reached to 34,578, with the total expenditure of tourists arriving within the programme itself amounting to  BD 7,217,730.”