As part of the plan to highlight Bahrain’s overall tourism offering, the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BTEA) unveiled a new segment to promote the kingdom as a ‘prime wedding destination’. Seeing the huge potential in India’s destination wedding segment, Bahrain plans to promote its numerous offerings like the island resorts, heritage, beaches and the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) to the India market. BTEA participated in the recent Vogue Wedding Show in New Delhi to unveil its exclusive offerings.
Speaking to Express TravelWorld, Ali Hassan Folland, advisor, Bahrain Tourism Exhibitions Authority (BTEA), said, “In our startegy for 2015-2018 we had listed that we will increase our tourism contribution from 4.6 to 7 per cent in the non oil economy. In order to maintain the steady growth we have come up with several development projects for beaches and other tourism facilities.
One of projects is to promote Bahrain as a island wedding destination which started about 15 months ago. We focused on two main markets namely Saudi Arabia, which contributes to 60 per cent of our inbound tourists and India which holds immense potential for the near future.”
He further added, “India market is now looking for newer destinations moving away from the conventional ones like Thailand, Dubai, etc. Bahrain as a destination offers a lot in terms of its historical connect with India and close proximity. BTEA as the facilatator can assist these wedding functions by easing the arrival and transportation process to give a unique experience to the families.”
Bahrain recently hosted a major Indian wedding for 1300 guests where the Ritz Carlton and Four Seasons were completely booked for three days. They have already received booking for weddings in November, December and March next year. Apart from major hotel chains like Four Seasons, Ritz Carlton, Movenpick, Sheraton, Golden Tulip, Sofitel among others, Bahrain also offers stadiums and restaurants for different shows. The Al Noor Tents, Oliveto, Capital Club Bahrain, BIC and the Royal Gold Club Bahrain to list a few. Their online website lists series of wedding planners, jewellers and fashion designers to assist with the planning.
The upcoming destination is already tapping new international markets through other representation offices in Riyadh, China, Moscow, London, Paris and Frankfurt.