Travel And Tourism in Bahrain
Euromonitor International's Travel And Tourism in Bahrain report offers a comprehensive guide to the market at a national level. It looks at travel accommodation, transportation, car rental, tourist attractions and retail travel. It identifies the leading companies and offers strategic analysis of key factors influencing the market, including background information on disposable income, annual leave and holiday taking habits.
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Chapters: 8 | Tables: 53 | Publication date: Dec 2006
Why buy this report
- Get insight into trends in market performance
- Pinpoint growth sectors and identify factors driving change
- Identify market and brand leaders and understand the competitive environment
Product coverage
Airline capacity and utilisation; Arrivals by country of origin; Arrivals by mode of transport; Arrivals by purpose of visit; Car rental services by sector; Demand factors; Departures by destination; Departures by mode of transport; Departures by purpose of visit; Domestic tourism by destination; Domestic tourism by mode of transport; Tourism receipts and expenditure; Tourist attractions; Transportation; Travel accommodation; Travel retail services
Executive summary
Aiming for Positive Growth
The year 2005 saw growth of 13% in tourist arrivals to Bahrain. The country benefits from relative stability compared to other countries across the region, in addition to state of the art technology brought to the heart of the tourism industry with e-visa facilities introduced to simplify processes.
The Bahraini market benefits from substantial incoming tourists from Saudi Arabia through the causeway linking both countries. As the number of Saudi visitors is increasingly important in Bahrain, the share of Saudi visitors is also likely to give way to larger numbers of visitors from Europe and the US, especially for the Formula One week. This market was a main driver to positively affect the Bahraini tourism market since the establishment of the circuit in 2003.
Travel Accomodation Sector
Compared to some areas of the Gulf, the development of a tourism infrastructure in Bahrain seems quiet. The massive hotel developments by major chains that dominate the UAE and Saudi Arabia’s construction industry were not mirrored in Bahrain, since the market was still small compared to its neighbours until numbers of visitors started soaring after the launching of the F1 circuit; 800,000 visitors to the F1 Grand Prix in 2005. Resorts and hotels are being built largely without the involvement of major international brands, fuelled solely by local developments.
Demand for hotel accommodation experienced moderate growth in 2005, with occupancy increasing to 73%. The sustained level of demand enabled hoteliers to boost average room rate by 10%, to US$145, resulting in revPar growth of 11%, to US$106. A new star rating system was introduced to boost hotel performances by establishing new quality standards and is expected to draw a more sophisticated clientele to the Bahraini hotel sector, also boosting average room rates in the process.
Transportation Sector
Bahrain International Airport is renowned as a regional hub of commercial aviation in the Gulf region, the airport’s leverage is largely driven by the causeway linking Bahrain to Saudi Arabia. A massive expansion project is underway, of which the first phase ending in 2010 will raise capacity to 15 million passengers and increase to 73 the number of aircraft hangars and bridges as compared to 21 airlines operating in 2006.
Gulf Airline, Bahrain’s national carrier is also a national success story, with revenues soaring to unprecedented highs with premium traffic rising across the Gulf Air network by 26% despite the rising cost of fuel. This is further boosted by the airline’s attractive promotional offers and services such as the stopover program” designed by the airline to meet the hotel, transfer and car hire needs of its customer
Travel Retail Sector
Bahrain’s travel retail services is lead by the WTS Group which includes a leisure division offered by Sunshine Tours as well as an exchange affiliate Arexco which renders the group a one stop shop for travellers.
The island’s main offerings and developing package holidays include the Golf niche segment which is bound for growth. With an increasing number of travel agencies showing interest in golf packages this market could reach 10% of the total world golf market. Another development is the newly emerging high end cruise segment driven by demand of Arab in terms of a fully fledged luxury holiday.
The travel retail sector has attracted increasing on-line bookings, thanks to rising internet penetration rates and technological developments.
Table of contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
AIMING FOR POSITIVE GROWTH
TRAVEL ACCOMODATION SECTOR
TRANSPORTATION SECTOR
TRAVEL RETAIL SECTOR
KEY TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS
ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF TOURISM
Outlook
Impact
GOVERNMENT TOURISM POLICY
Outlook
Impact
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN
Outlook
Impact
POSITIVE GROWTH FACTORS
Outlook
Impact
MICE SECTOR DEVELOPMENT
Outlook
Impact
THE BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX
Outlook
Impact
PC OWNERSHIP AND INTERNET PENETRATION
Outlook
Impact
TRAVEL ACCOMMODATION
CHAIN HOTEL DEVELOPMENT
OCCUPANCY TRENDS, REVPAR, ROOMS AND BEDS
STAR RATING SYSTEMS
TRANSPORTATION
LEGISLATION
AIRPORT INFRASTRUCTURE
REGIONAL HUB
SUPPLY ISSUES
TRADITIONAL AIRLINE PERFORMANCE
SUCCESSFUL PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGN
TRAVEL RETAIL
SUCCESSFUL STRATEGIC ALLIANCES
GOLF HOLIDAYS
CRUISES
ON-LINE SALES AND WEB DEVELOPMENT
MARKET DATA
Table 1 Length of Trip: 2000-2005
Table 2 Arrivals by Country of Origin: 2000-2005
Table 3 Arrivals by Method of Transport: 2000-2005
Table 4 Arrivals by Purpose of Visit: 2000-2005
Table 5 Departures: 2000-2005
Table 6 Departures by Destination: 2000-2005
Table 7 Departures by Mode of Transport: 2000-2005
Table 8 Departures by Purpose of Visit: 2000-2005
Table 9 Domestic Trips by Mode of Transport: 2000-2005
Table 10 Incoming Tourist Receipts: 2000-2005
Table 11 Incoming Tourist Receipts % Growth: 2000-2005
Table 12 Outgoing Tourism Expenditure: 2000-2005
Table 13 Outgoing Tourism Expenditure % Growth: 2000-2005
Table 14 Domestic Tourist Expenditure: 2000-2005
Table 15 Forecast Arrivals by Country of Origin: 2005-2010
Table 16 Forecast Arrivals by Method of Transport: 2005-2010
Table 17 Forecast Departures: 2005-2010
Table 18 Forecast Departures by Destination: 2005-2010
Table 19 Forecast Departures by Mode of Transport: 2005-2010
Table 20 Forecast Incoming Tourist Receipts: 2005-2010
Table 21 Forecast Domestic Tourist Expenditure: 2005-2010
Table 22 Forecast Outgoing Tourism Expenditure: 2005-2010
SECTOR DATA
Table 23 Hotels: Units 2000-2005
Table 24 Regional Hotel Parameters 2005
Table 25 Travel Accommodation Sales by Sector: Value 2000-2005
Table 26 Travel Accommodation Internet Sales: Internet Transaction Value 2000-2005
Table 27 Hotel Internet Sales: Internet Transaction Value 2000-2005
Table 28 Hotel Company Rankings 2005
Table 29 Forecast Hotels: Units 2005-2010
Table 30 Forecast Travel Accommodation Sales by Sector: Value 2005-2010
Table 31 Forecast Travel Accommodation Internet Sales: Internet Transaction Value 2005-2010
Table 32 Forecast Hotel Internet Sales: Internet Transaction Value 2005-2010
Table 33 Transportation Sales by Sector: Value 2000-2005
Table 34 Airline Company Rankings 2005
Table 35 Transportation Internet Sales: Internet Transaction Value 2000-2005
Table 36 Air Travel Internet Sales: Internet Transaction Value 2000-2005
Table 37 Forecast Transportation Sales by Sector: Value 2005-2010
Table 38 Forecast Transportation Internet Sales: Internet Transaction Value 2005-2010
Table 39 Forecast Air Travel Internet Sales: Internet Transaction Value 2000-2005
Table 40 Car Rental Sales: Value 2000-2005
Table 41 Car Rental Company Rankings 2005
Table 42 Car Rental Internet Sales: Internet Transaction Value 2000-2005
Table 43 Forecast Car Rental Sales: Value 2005-2010
Table 44 Forecast Car Rental Internet Sales: Internet Transaction Value 2005-2010
Table 45 Travel Retail Outlets: Units 2000-2005
Table 46 Travel Retail Sales: 2000-2005
Table 47 Travel Retail Internet Sales: Internet Transaction Value 2000-2005
Table 48 Travel Retail Company Rankings 2005
Table 49 Forecast Travel Retail Outlets: Units 2005-2010
Table 50 Forecast Travel Retail Sales: 2005-2010
Table 51 Forecast Travel Retail Internet Sales: Internet Transaction Value 2005-2010
Table 52 Tourist Attractions: Value 2000-2005
Table 53 Forecast Tourist Attractions: Value 2005-2010
DEFINITIONS
TRAVEL AND TOURISM
DEMAND FACTORS
Length of Trip
TOURISM PARAMETERS
Arrivals
Departures
Outgoing tourism expenditure
Domestic tourists
Domestic trips
Domestic tourist expenditure
TRAVEL ACCOMMODATION
Hotels
Other travel accommodation
Number of bed nights
Occupancy rates
Number of rooms and beds
TRANSPORTATION
Air
Other transportation
CAR RENTAL
TRAVEL RETAIL
TOURIST ATTRACTIONS
INTERNET SALES