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Tourism Minister Fatima Al Sairafi signed an agreement with UN Tourism Secretary-General Shaikha Al Nowais on the sidelines of Arabian Travel Market 2026 in Dubai to bring the International Tourism Investment Forum to Bahrain for the first time the Gulf Daily News reported. The event scheduled for January 10 to 12 2027 will take place under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa the Crown Prince and Prime Minister. Al Sairafi described the partnership as an important step toward strengthening the kingdom’s role as a hub for tourism investment while the forum itself aims to create direct channels of communication among investors decision-makers and entities from both the public and private sectors.
The minister stated that hosting the International Tourism Investment Forum in 2027 will provide a global platform bringing together investors decision-makers experts and relevant stakeholders to explore new opportunities and develop high-quality partnerships that contribute to advancing the growth of the tourism sector. Al Sairafi added that the signing of this agreement with UN Tourism represents an important step towards further consolidating Bahrain’s position as a regional and international destination for tourism investment. The first-of-its-kind gathering in the kingdom will feature specialised sessions and discussions that address the latest developments in tourism investment along with key trends and opportunities across the sector.
Organisers expect the forum to draw broad participation from senior officials investors decision-makers representatives of the public and private sectors as well as international organisations according to the Gulf Daily News. It will focus on enhancing cooperation that supports sustainable growth in line with national economic priorities. Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority preparations for the event build directly on the kingdom’s established collaboration with UN Tourism which has already included joint initiatives on statistics and capacity building.
Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority figures show the kingdom surpassed targets set in its Tourism Strategy 2022-2026 with 16.04 million non-Bahraini travelers arriving in 2025 compared with 15.71 million the previous year and against an original goal of 14.1 million by the end of 2026. The same data placed total tourist nights at a record 20.2 million in 2025 up from 19.1 million in 2024 and 13.2 million in 2019 the last full pre-pandemic year. These gains have lifted the sector’s contribution to national GDP to around 7 percent while the strategy seeks to push that share above 11 percent.
Across the wider GCC region tourism contributed approximately 254 billion dollars to combined economies in 2025 equivalent to 11.4 percent of regional GDP according to an Economy Middle East assessment that cited World Travel and Tourism Council data. The bloc welcomed more than 75 million inbound tourists that year marking a 4.8 percent increase while intra-GCC travel exceeded 20 million visitors. Al Sairafi highlighted these regional strengths during a ministerial debate at Arabian Travel Market 2026 where she called for continued investment in infrastructure innovation and human capital to sustain momentum.
UN Tourism has listed the Bahrain forum among its confirmed regional activities for early 2027 alongside other ministerial meetings that will review progress on artificial intelligence applications and gastronomy tourism. The event will serve as a platform for showcasing specific investment projects in areas such as waterfront developments cultural heritage sites and business events infrastructure. Participants will also examine regulatory reforms that have helped attract foreign direct investment into the kingdom’s tourism assets over the past several years.
