MANAMA: Seventeen key events hosted at the Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Centre (BIEC) from January until August this year attracted a total of 280,000 local and international visitors, it was revealed yesterday.
In addition, the Bahrain Exhibition and Convention Authority (BECA) had 123 confirmed bookings until end of September as compared with a total of 125 bookings last year, it said.
The statistics were presented during BECA's third quarter presentation to its board of directors, chaired by Industry and Commerce Minister Dr Hassan Fakhro.
During the meeting, the minister stressed the importance of completing the construction of the new 'Expo City', scheduled to go on stream in 2012.
The majority of the investment project cost, which is estimated to be BD287 million ($761.3m), is expected to be funded by the private sector.
BECA, which works under the ministry, is partnering with the Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company, private investors and banks to ensure Bahrain has the future exhibition and convention facilities needed to meet growing international market demands.
The project, which will be constructed as part of the @Bahrain project, will be built in Sakhir, close to Bahrain International Circuit and on a plot of land equivalent to 10 times the existing BIEC.
It is estimated it will generate an incremental revenues of BD115m annually to the national economy and will create a large number of new, full-time job opportunities.
The minister said BECA continues to maintain its mandate of promoting Bahrain as the regional exhibition and conference hub and contribute to attracting international exhibitions and conference particularly specialised events.
"BECA's performance has so far equalled its achievements in 2008 in many areas," it said.
Other highlights of BECA's achievements during the third quarter included plans for generating additional revenue streams and upgrading of BIEC facilities, the renewal of its alliance with the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry and its co-ordination of Bahrain's participation in the recent Aluminium China trade show.
It also includes its partnership with one of the largest and most widely-respected certification bodies in the world, TUV Middle East - a member of TUV Nord - for Food & Hospitality Expo 2010 and programme of 'Team Bahrain' to gain essential stakeholders buy-in to develop Bahrain's MICE industry and allow support network when bidding for international events on an annual basis allowing BECA to secure advantageous and cost-effective rates.
