Jerad Bachar, Executive director of Tourism & Leisure, of the Bahrain Economic Development Board has a very specific vision in mind—and if you’re imaginative and quick, you could get in on the ground floor. What do YOU wish could be available to you as a traveler? Now’s the time—invent it!
Thank you for this opportunity. Could you please give our readers a quick background about yourself?
Sure. I spent 25 years in the hotel and tourism industry—working at the onset of technology disruption within the hospitality sector. In 2008, I moved to Dubai and joined Dubai Tourism. I’ve been working here in Bahrain with the EDB for just over a year.
What do you think is working in Abu Dhabi or Dubai that Bahrain could pick up on?
Dubai is the benchmark for tourism development within the region. They’ve done a really good job of using technology to their advantage—in particular, making sure there’s digital engagement with consumers even before they decide upon their travel plans. They want to have an experience they couldn’t have anywhere else. That’s a huge opportunity for Bahrain.
CONSUMERS TODAY ARE LOOKING FOR EXPERIENTIAL TRAVEL. THE MILLENNIALS WHO ARE TRAVELING NOW ARE LOOKING TO ENGAGE WITH THEIR DESTINATION.
Would you say that getting infrastructure right is a prerequisite to building something more stable?
It is. The vast majority of travelers require a basic level of comfort: good air and land connectivity, safe, suitable accommodation, security, and stability. Once they have that in place, they can begin to open their minds to new experiences. Here in Bahrain, we have the basic infrastructure, plus 5,000 years’ worth of documented history travelers can take advantage of.
What role does the EDB play in the goal of growing the tourism sector? Is it a research role, a supporting role, or something different?
If you look at developing a tourism destination anywhere in the world, there are four basic pillars that need to work together: product development, demand development, regulatory development, and workforce development. The EDB’s role is primarily within the first pillar. We work with domestic and foreign individuals, developers and investors who are interested in investing in Bahrain’s tourism sector. This includes all aspects of tourism leading to the development of our complete ecosystem.
Do you think that’s something a lot of people know about? Can locals take advantage of it, and get some help from the EDB in setting something up?
Absolutely. To be fair, the EDB is an investment promotion agency. By definition, our role is to attract foreign investment to Bahrain. However, the tourism sector is a bit different: more than 60% of our activities, including investment promotion, actually take place in the local market. We look domestically to increase investment.
Since 2013, there has been an increase in airport arrivals of approximately 18%. How is Bahrain aiming to cater to that increase?
The $1 billion expansion of the airport represented a major step. We will continue work with the Bahrain Airport Company to develop new routes into Bahrain. We have recently traveled to China to the World Routes Conference, where we met with international airlines to try to provide more service to Bahrain.
Growth in the Bahraini tourism industry has definitely impacted startups. Could you tell us more—specifically about opportunities that startups in Bahrain might expect out of this growth?
The opportunities are within what we call the softer side of tourism. There are a lot of potential experiences that have not yet been packaged or promoted from a consumer standpoint. Consumers now are more technologically native. They expect to have access to any information required to explore the country. This includes immersing themselves in to the local communities; gaining instant recommendations, reviews, and having access to booking or purchasing processes.
Where should the responsibility of increasing that awareness fall, mainly?
The soft side of tourism really should come from the private sector. The startup/tech community can work on developing the technology, whether it’s small-scale or something they want to grow on a regional or international basis.
Currently, the tourism sector contributes about 5% to Bahrain’s GDP, and is responsible for about 42,000 jobs in Bahrain. What kind of growth does Bahrain aim for with these numbers?
The economic goal is based upon an international average: somewhere around 10% of the national GDP should come from tourism. According to the UNWTO (World Tourism Organization), international tourism arrivals in 2015 hit 1.2 billion.We would like to eventually see Bahrain’s growth get to 10% of direct economic impact within the GDP, which would be much more in line with international standards.
TOURISM IS NOT A ZERO-SUM GAME, GLOBAL TOURISM CONTINUES TO GROW, ALONG WITH THE OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL OF US TO SUCCEED AS A REGION.
Okay. The expenditure, I believe, of non-resident visitors increased from 3.5% from 2011-14 to 5% in 2015. What do you think were the biggest changes that led to this increase?
There were three primary changes: the increase in arrivals, the number of new products built in Bahrain during that time (mainly in food service, retail, and hotel development), and the change in oil’s contribution to the GDP.
Would you encourage more Bahrain startups to focus on the tourism industry? Do you think there’s a specific untapped market that startups are currently unaware of?
There is. One area could be in the cruise sector. Our ambition is to grow the number of cruise passengers coming into Bahrain in the near future to over 100,000 passengers. Dubai’s goal by 2020 is to have a million cruise passengers a year. This represents an opportunity for Bahrain to capture some of the passengers Dubai is shooting for, and is something we are already working on with several cruise lines adding Bahrain to their GCC itineraries such as MSC, Azamara and The World.
Do you think there’s more opportunity in the B2B sector to bring service providers to products, resorts, and hotels?
B2B is important, but B2C is also massively important. At this point, consumers want an individualized, bespoke experience. We want them to engage with the locals, experience Bahrain and then talk about it on social media. People are going to say, “Hey, my friend was just in Bahrain. They were on this really cool culinary experience. I want to go and do that.” Next year, their trip is going to include Bahrain.
Thanks again.