BAHRAIN: analysis of the destination over the period 2015- January-June 2018

The destination is not wide-scale, but the annual growth of tourist traffic is evident. According to the Rosstat annually published data, as well as the Bahrain NTO in Russia, the country was visited by: 2015 year - 5400 Russian tourists 2016 year - 9900 Russian tourists 2017 year - 10600 Russian tourists 2018 year (January-June) - 11298 Russian tourists The Russians more often began to choose Bahrain as the place where they spend their holidays: from January to June 2018, 11,298 Russian tourists visited Bahrain - this is 13.2% more than in the same period of 2017. The average length of stay in Bahrain over this period increased by 16%, while the percentage of increasing of the total number of nights accounted 21.6%. Most of the travelers come to Bahrain to spend their holidays - this is 43.4%. 35.2% of guests visit the country for the purpose of shopping. And the less significant part is tourists, who come here to visit their friends and relatives - this is 9.2%. A small proportion is business trips - 6.8%. The main type of the rest is a winter beach holiday. Bahrain’s main advantages are sandy beaches, warm, crystal clear sea and sunny weather. The beach season in the Kingdom, consisting of 33 islands, lasts from November to the end of April, when autumn and winter are already coming to Russia. But in general, you may sunbathe and swim here all year round. According to Coral Travel experts, with charter flights the tours to Bahrain have every chance to become a new winter beach destination for Russians in the Gulf region. But not only the beach holiday attracts the Russians. In addition to the excellent beaches in Bahrain, there are many historical and cultural attractions, which distinguish it from the other countries in this region. Lovers of active and family recreation in Bahrain will be interested in horse and camel ride walk, water and wildlife parks, jeep safari, yoga on the water, diving and pearl fishing. Another important factor which attracts tourists to the resorts of Bahrain is a loyal attitude to the Western cultural traditions. In the Kingdom alcohol is allowed in restaurants and hotels, in local nightclubs you can dance until the morning time. The simplified procedure for entering the country (a tourist visa for up to 2 weeks can be obtained upon arrival at the airport and, if necessary, be extended), high service, interesting sights, adequate prices and a not too long flight from Moscow are also attractive. The national carrier, Gulf Air airline, performs regular daily flights on the route Moscow-Manama-Moscow: - via Cairo (Egypt Air or Egypt Air + Gulf Air); - via Dubai (Emirates Airlines or Emirates Airlines + Gulf Air); - via Doha (Qatar Airways or Qatar Airways + Gulf Air); - via Abu Dhabi (Etihad Airways or Etihad Aiways + Gulf Air); - via Istanbul (Turkish Airlines or Turkish Airlines + Gulf Air). According to the Minister of Tourism of Bahrain Mr. Zayed Bin Rashid Al-Zayani, everything is being done to increase the capacity of the Bahrain International Airport from 4,5 million to 14 million passengers per year. The expansion of the hub should be completed in 2019. The growth of tourist traffic from Russia is facilitated by launching of direct charter flights to Bahrain by Coral Travel tour operator. The flights are operated by Ural Airlines from October 29, 2018 to May 13, 2019 on Mondays and Fridays. A direct flight from Moscow to Manama, the capital of Bahrain, takes only 4.5 hours. Coral Travel offers Russian tourists in Bahrain about 50 hotels, both beach and urban, mainly of the 4* and 5* categories. Among them are: The Ritz-Carlton Bahrain 5*, Art Rotana Amwaj Islands 5*, Novotel Al Dana 4*, Ramada Hotel and Suites Amwaj Islands 4*, which are located on the first coastline. City hotels are: The Gulf Hotel 5*, Wyndham Garden Manama 4*, Ibis Seef Manama 4*, Downtown Rotana 5*, Ramee California 4 and others. Most hotels in Bahrain offer food types BB, HB, FB. Some hotels in the country also work on AI basis, but this is a completely “light” form of “all inclusive”, not like the usual Turkish one: in fact, for guests only drinks are added to three meals a day. The peculiarity of the local hotels is that guests have breakfasts based on a buffet system, while lunch and dinner depend on the number of people who eat at the hotel: if there are not many guests, they eat according menu. Many hotels in Bahrain take deposits upon check-in. As for the price of tours to Bahrain from Coral Travel, it’s very democratic, comparable to the price of tours to the UAE and even lower. Thus, the cost of a tour package to Bahrain with a flight, transfer, insurance and hotel accommodation for 10 nights on HB starts from 81,540 Rubles ($ 1,240) for two persons. In addition to Coral Travel, tours to Bahrain are offered by such Russian tour operators as Art Tour, AT Club, Sodis, Paks, Intertour, Anitaris, Antiktravel, Wind Travel, Jetlane Travel, Space Travel and San-Tour.