The third-edition of the Bahrain Shopping Festival – ‘Shop Bahrain’ - is set to be the biggest nationwide Festival with a unique line-up of events and entertainment, a fantastic shopping experience and numerous prizes. The 30-day event, aimed at celebrating the Kingdom’s hospitality and tourism offering, will kick off on January 19^th 2017 and will run until the 18^th February 2017.

The Festival, co-organized by the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BTEA) and Tamkeen, is held in cooperation with the partners from the public and private sector such as Gulf Air, Batelco and YK Al Moayyed & Sons.

Last year, over 20 shopping malls took part in the Festival resulting in BD11 million worth of shopping along with a growth in the number of tourists from the GCC. The second edition also witnessed an increase in the daily sales revenues by 30% when compared to the results posted by the first edition. The Festival also offered employment opportunities by directly and indirectly hiring 175 Bahrainis.

“The third-edition of the Festival aims to further drive the growth of the tourism and retail sectors through a close cooperation with the hospitality sector and shopping malls. This will contribute to the development of the national economy whilst attracting tourists from the Gulf region,” the Shop Bahrain Project Manager, Nawaf Alkoheji, told reporters in a press conference held at the Four Seasons Qatar.

“The first two editions of the Festival were a huge success and the third-edition is the continuation of this achievement,” he said adding that, “the organizing committee of Shop Bahrain has been working hand-in-hand with its partners from the public and private sector in order to ensure the success of the upcoming Festival in line with BTEA’s Tourism Strategy and in accordance with Bahrain’s Vision 2030.”

“The Festival will also be held during the school holiday which will directly result in an influx of tourists from the region. This will positively impact the retail sector, drive the occupancy of the hotels and support the airline industry along with other service-led industries. The activities and entertainment held during Shop Bahrain will further position the Kingdom as an ideal tourist destination. This year the line-up will be bigger and better,” he said.

“During the festival, tourists and guests can avail from loyalty points when using the services at any of the 17 participating hotels that includes a number of five and four star hotel,” said Alkoheji.

The Kingdom’s tourism strategy aims to increase the average tourist expenditure in Bahrain to reach BHD136 per day by the year 2018. Shop Bahrain will be a main driver as it will offer tourists a 30-day celebration catered to the entire family.

The calendar of events includes a ‘Festival City’ located at the Bahrain Bay which will host a variety of activities for all age groups. Other highlights include the return of the ‘Taste Tour’ which aims to showcase more than 25 mouth-watering restaurants in addition to raffle draws offering visitors and residents the opportunity to win big and amazing prizes.

Shop Bahrain will mirror the Kingdom’s position as an accessible family destination, renowne for its close proximity to the Gulf countries with easy access through the King Fahad Causeway and the Bahrain International Airport. The Festival will offer an incredibly diverse range of retail experiences. Shoppers will be enrolled in the Festival’s loyalty system when purchasing directly from any participating outlet and partner allowing them to win a wide range of prizes.

Shoppers and visitors can learn more about "Shop Bahrain" through the website: www.shopbahrain.com or through the account @shopbahrain on the social networking channels Facebook,Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. The Festival organizers have also launched a dedicated whatsapp channel on +973 38999111.

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