Bahrain joins Atas to showcase touring and adventure credentials

The Bahrain Tourism & Exhibitions Authority has joined the Association of Touring and Adventure Suppliers (Atas) to showcase the kingdom to UK agents and encourage longer stays.

Maryam Toorani, BTEA director of tourism marketing and promotion, said: “As UK is one of our main target markets, we want to connect and collaborate with more trade partners to increase the number of UK travellers to Bahrain.”

She said most visitors are on stopovers, so the current average stay for UK holidaymakers is three days.

The tourism board hopes its membership of Atas will encourage more agents to sell longer packages that offer adventure and touring options.

Describing Bahrain as a “hidden gem”, she said the Gulf destination offers activities such as cycling, horse riding, camping, kayaking and trips on traditional wooden boats called dhows.

There are also heritage and cultural attractions and the chance to visit the Bahrain International Circuit – the first track in the Middle East to host the Formula 1 World Championship.

The tourism board can offer training, marketing support and fam trips to help promote the destination, which has 14 new hotels in the pipeline.

Sedkey said UK tour operators sent 12,000 UK holidaymakers to Bahrain in 2019, before the pandemic, and now overall tourism numbers are back to 90% of pre-Covid levels.

Claire Brighton, Atas account director, said: “I’m very pleased to welcome Bahrain as an associate member.

“They bring a huge opportunity for our agents to discover a destination that offers plenty of inspiring adventure options.”

Pictured: Traditional fishing boat on the waterfront in Manama, Bahrain, by Kutikan/Shutterstock