A LARGE influx of holidaymakers from the GCC and beyond are expected to be in Bahrain tonight as the kingdom gears up to ring in the New Year with a bang.

Hotels and travel agents in the country are reporting a surge in the number of tourists over the past few days, with an increase in flight reservations and hotel bookings witnessing higher occupancy compared to the same period last year.

Fireworks are set to light up the sky over Bahrain tonight at eight locations in Manama and Muharraq. They are the Bahrain Fort, Water Garden City, Bahrain Harbour, Bahrain Bay Beach, Manama coastline between the Shaikh Hamad Causeway and the Shaikh Isa Bin Salman Causeway, The Avenues Bahrain, Al Sayah in Busaiteen and Marassi Galleria in Diyar Al Muharraq.

Additionally, drone shows will be held at Bahrain Bay and The Avenues Bahrain.

Hilton Bahrain general manager Tamer Farouk said that the hotel is enjoying a high number of visitors due to the efforts of the Tourism Ministry and the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BTEA).

“We are enjoying a great occupancy this New Year, thanks to the festivities and the fantastic tourism campaigns by the government,” said Mr Farouk.

“Our excellent festive dining offers also elevate the holiday experience, contributing significantly to this success.

“Our guests come from a variety of places and we see a strong presence of staycationers and regular visitors from neighbouring countries, particularly Saudi Arabia.

“This year, we’ve also welcomed traffic from new markets, which is exciting to see.”

He added that there has been a steady increase of tourists over the past two years, and is optimistic that tourism will continue to grow over the next year.

“I am very pleased with our progress over the past two years,” he said.

“Each year, we continue to improve, thanks to the passion and dedication of my team, the support from the Tourism Ministry, and the loyalty of our guests.”

According to a tourism survey carried out by the Information and eGovernment Authority and the BTEA, accommodation and food service activities witnessed a year-on-year growth rate of 10.6 per cent in the second quarter of this year.

Both the number of overnight visitors and the number of same-day visitors increased during the quarter, growing by 20.8pc and 17.9pc, respectively, resulting in a total of 3.7 million tourists.

Elite Hospitality Group’s chief operating officer Sarosh Aibara told the GDN that despite conflicts that affected footfall, the tourism sector has continued to grow and will hopefully continue the same trend in 2025.

“We witnessed decent growth in the hospitality sector this year compared to 2023 despite the conflicts in the region,” he said.

“Several properties have offered New Year’s Eve and special staycation packages for local residents which is a good sign, and the occupancy levels are expected to pick up next week when there are school holidays in Saudi Arabia.”

Despite that, Mr Aibara states that there is still room for improvement, and Bahrain needs to use the wave of momentum to do even better next year.

“Bahrain continues to largely rely on the regional feeder markets in the tourism segment,” he said.

“We would like more leisure activities and programmes held to attract GCC families.

“Additionally, more can be done to host and promote meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) tourism, which can attract new markets into Bahrain.

“Overall, there has been improvement compared to 2023, but even more can be done heading into the next year to turn Bahrain into a tourism hub in the region.”

Travel agents in the kingdom have also shown positivity in regard to the number of tourists. They have hinted at an increasing number of visitors due to the combination of a few factors, including holidays and favourable weather.

Dadabhai Travel director Adnan Aziz stated that the number of inbound visitors in the kingdom has shown steady improvement in time for the New Year.

“It has been helped mainly by increased connectivity to and through Bahrain, combined with multiple holidays occurring around the same time period and much more favourable weather,” said Mr Aziz.

“Bahrain sees a strong inflow of tourists and guests from the GCC every year and the Christmas/New Year time period is no different.

“Inbound travel is steadily improving, this is in part due to the initiatives of the Tourism Ministry and the BTEA, especially in promoting the kingdom as a prime wedding destination.

“New Year events have always been popular in Bahrain, attracting visitors from neighbouring countries and those with direct connectivity and world-class hospitality establishments that have opened recently have done very well to attract people.”

Bahrain International Travel general manager C D Singh has also highlighted the increasing number of visitors this year due to events organised by the authority.

“There has always been a high number of visitors this time of the year due to numerous holidays and celebrations such as National Day, Christmas and New Year,” he said.

“This time, it feels like there are even more tourists compared to before, partly due to the efforts of BTEA and other organisers for the sheer number of events.

“Most of the visitors are from the GCC countries, especially Saudi Arabia, but there has been a higher number of tourists from other countries as well.

“Things are looking good for the kingdom’s tourism sector, especially with the GCC Unified Visa expected soon, which will also boost the number of travellers over the next year.”

Another reason for the increase in the number of tourists in the country comes due to the return of the cruise season.

Around 12 cruise ships arrived in Bahrain this month as part of the Bahrain Festive Season 2024 as part of an initiative to bolster maritime tourism and achieve the goals of the Tourism Strategy 2022-2026.

The 2024-2025 cruise ship season, which started last month and continues until April 2025, will see the arrival of 40 cruise ships bringing in 100,000 tourists from all over the world, especially Europe.

Cruise ships include the Greek vessel Celestyal Journey, which is on its inaugural visit to the Gulf, the French ship Le Bougainville, and ships from the German AIDA and Swiss-Italian MSC Cruises fleets.

Additionally, cruise tourists continue to visit commercial markets, malls, heritage and archaeological sites, as part of the tourist tours organised by BTEA.

Skal International Bahrain president Mohamed Buzizi said that the country is expected to see a rise in tourism in 2025.

“Bahrain has been the heart of Christmas and New Year celebrations in the region for more than 40 years now,” he said.

“The kingdom offers a variety of entertainment, shopping centres and international cuisine, which is expected to contribute to a rise in tourism next year and attract more regional and international visitors.

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