Sea Festival Concludes With Resounding Success Attracting More Than 30,000 Visitors

Press release

Published November 17th, 2019 - 07:12 GMT

Sea Festival Concludes With Resounding Success Attracting More Than 30,000 Visitors

During the event

Highlights

The Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BTEA) announced that the fourth edition of the Sea Festival successfully concluded on November 16

The Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BTEA) announced that the fourth edition of the Sea Festival successfully concluded on November 16, attracting more than 30,000 visitors from the Kingdom of Bahrain and neighboring GCC countries since it first opened to the public on November 7. The festival featured a series of sea-related activities to suit visitors of all ages and interests, including water sports, entertainment, shopping and educational activities.

Other attractions at the festival included boat rides, traditional music performances, handicrafts and pearl merchants. There was also plenty of entertainment during the Festival with an on-stage acrobatics performance (Del Mare) alongside a museum that highlighted Bahrain’s sea history throughout the ages.

“We have successfully concluded the fourth edition of the Sea Festival which attracted more than 30,000 visitors from the Kingdom of Bahrain and neighboring GCC countries over a ten-day period. We look forward to hosting the next edition in 2020; this event comes as part of our efforts to revive the Kingdom’s legacy as a sea faring nation as well as educate visitors and tourists on Bahrain’s rich history,” said the Chief Executive Officer of BTEA, Mr. Nader Al Moayyed.

“The annual Sea Festival is one of multiple events spearheaded by the BTEA in an effort to further develop the Kingdom’s tourism sector and increase its contribution to the national economy,” he added.

Hosting the Sea Festival reiterates BTEA’s commitment towards the National Plan (Bahrainuna) which is also being implemented by the Kingdom's governmental entities to achieve the royal vision of His Majesty King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa. The National Plan was launched to promote national belonging and consolidate the values of citizenship in order to preserve the Bahraini identity and the deep-rooted values in society, especially among the employees in the public sector.

The National Plan aims to reinforce the values of nationalism and preserve the Bahraini identity. The BTEA is keen to implement His Majesty the King's vision and fully support the initiatives and objectives of the National Plan to promote national belonging and further consolidate the values of citizenship. The BTEA, along with its employees, are actively seeking to launch initiatives to further support and encourage the society to cherish their homeland and Bahraini identity in contribution to achieving the National Plan.

Hosting the festival also comes as part of BTEA’s overall strategy aimed at developing and strengthening the tourism sector under the slogan ‘Ours. Yours’, which contributes towards the Kingdom’s economy and 2030 Economic Vision.

Background Information

Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BETA)

Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority was established in 2015 under the Royal Decree number (76) for the year 2015 issued by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, King of Bahrain. Whereas the first clause of the Decree number (10) stated that an authority should be established under the supervision of the Council of Ministers

In 2015, BTEA started its operations under the Decree number (9) for the year 2015 to append the Tourism Affairs to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce based on the recommendation of HRH Prime Minister and under the law number (62) of the year 2016 to establish and regulate the Bahrain Exhibition and Convention Authority (BECA) and the Decree number (1) for the year 1985 to establish a Supreme Council for Tourism, and the law number (15) for the year 1986 to regulate the Tourism sector amended by a Law by Decree number (12) for the year 1994.