www.tradearabia.com An estimated 3,000 tourists, mainly from Europe, are due to arrive in Bahrain every week until March aboard the two largest cruise ships to have sailed into the country's waters, it was revealed yesterday.
Italian ship Costa Classica, which is scheduled to bring more than 1,500 tourists weekly for the next three months, arrived on its maiden voyage to Bahrain yesterday. It is the second European luxury cruise ship to arrive in Bahrain this month following a visit by the German "floating hotel" Aida Cara.
Both are expected to bring more than 3,000 tourists, mainly from Germany, Italy, France, Spain and the Netherlands, to Bahrain each week until March.
More luxury ships are expected to include Bahrain in their tours of the region in the New Year, bringing to the attention of holidaymakers from around the world the history, people and tourist attractions of the country, said Tourism Affairs marketing and tourism promotion acting director Isa Jassim Alobaidly.
"We welcome Costa Classica and its guests to Bahrain," he said at Mina Salman shortly after it docked. "The ship's maiden voyage to Bahrain goes very well with the strategic new plans for 2007 to increase tourism in Bahrain.
"Our message to people is: 'We are back'. They can see only further improvements in Bahrain's tourism from here."
Alsharif Group president and chief executive officer Ali Alsharif, who hosted a reception attended by about 25 VIPs aboard the Costa Classica, said the ship's weekly port calls to Mina Salman would not only be excellent for the country's tourism, but would also put Bahrain on the map.
"This is a regular ship that comes to Bahrain every Thursday, carrying an average of about 1,600 tourists," he said.
German ship, Aida Cara, sails into Mina Salman every Wednesday. "These passengers join Costa Classica in Dubai and they travel around the region before going back to Dubai," said Alsharif.
"These are mostly Italian and German visitors who are interested in learning more about Bahrain and visit its historical sites."
During the reception, Alsharif presented the ship's captain Francesco Serra with a commemorative plaque and received a similar plaque in return.
Tourism Affairs said most guests want to learn more about the region's culture and find Bahrain ideal for this.
"Guests have often said they feel the rich Arab culture when they visit Bahrain because here they are able to experience our traditions firsthand," said Alobaidly. "They say they cannot experience the same things when they go to other places in the region, like Dubai and Qatar.
"They also love shopping in Bahrain. Let's say if each passenger spends even about $100 (BD37.8) in the Manama suq - that's $150,000 (BD56,700) from one ship alone."
To prepare for the cruise liners' visits, Tourism Affairs trained several people to become official tour guides.
"With more than 1,500 tourists from each ship, it's a lot of people wanting to learn about Bahrain," said Tourism Affairs senior marketing specialist and tour guides supervisor Mirza Al Nasheet.
The directorate began training guides two months ago. Those who were successful were taken around Bahrain to learn more about historical sites. "Cruise liners' visits also mean jobs are created. Most guides are Bahrainis, but there are also expatriates who have lived in the country for more than two years and are fluent in German, Italian, Spanish and English," said Al Nasheet.
As the Costa Classica was moored at Mina Salman around 7am yesterday, most of its 1,500 passengers were taken on 40 buses for a guided tour.
The excursions of both Aida Cara and Costa Classica passengers are weekly organised by Algosaibi Travel. They are picked up by their tour guides and board buses around 9am, said general manager Isaac Mathew. "They are back by 3pm after touring the country and shopping."
Bahrain is now part of Costa Classica's Middle East route, which has scheduled port calls in Egypt, Oman, the UAE and Yemen. |