BEACH

BAHRAIN TOURISIM The cities of Muharraq (foreground) and Manama (background) As a tourist destination, Bahrain received over eight million visitors in 2008.Most of these are from the surrounding Arab states, although an increasing number of Hail from outside the region due to growing awareness of the kingdom's heritage and partly due to its higher profile as a result of the Bahrain Grand Prix. The kingdom combines modern Arab culture and the archaeological legacy of five thousand years of civilisation. The island is home to forts including Qalat Al Bahrain which has been listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. The Bahrain National Museum has Artifacts from the country's history dating back to the island's first human inhabitants some 9000 years ago and the Beit Al Quran (Arabic: The House of the Qur'an, meaning: the House of Qur'an) is a museum that holds Islamic Artifacts of the Qur'an. Some of the popular historical tourist attractions in the kingdom are the Al Khamis Mosque, which is one of the oldest mosques in the region, the Arad fort in Muharraq, the Barbar temple, which is an ancient temple from the Dilmunite period of Bahrain, as well as the A'ali Burial Mounds and the Saar temple.The Tree of Life, a 400-year-old tree that grows in the Sakhir desert with no nearby water, is also a popular tourist attraction. Bird watching (primarily in the Hawar Islands), scuba diving, and horse riding are popular tourist activities in Bahrain. Many tourists from nearby Saudi Arabia and across the region visit Manama primarily for the shopping malls in the capital Manama, such as the Bahrain City Center and Seef Mall in the Seef district of Manama. The Manama Souq and Gold Souq in the old district of Manama are also popular with tourists. In January 2019 the state-run Bahrain News Agency announced the summer 2019 opening of an underwater theme park covering about 100,000 square meters with a sunken Boeing 747 as the site's centeRPiece. The project is a partnership between the Supreme Council for Environment, Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BTEA), and private investors. Bahrain hopes scuba divers from around the world will visit the underwater park, which will also include artificial coral reefs, a copy of a Bahraini pearl merchant's house, and sculptures. The park is intended to become the world's largest eco-friendly underwater theme park. In January 2019 the state-run Bahrain News Agency announced the summer 2019 opening of an underwater theme park covering about 100,000 square meters with a sunken Boeing 747 as the site's Centerpiece. The project is a partnership between the Supreme Council for Environment, Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority and private investors. Bahrain hopes scuba divers from around the world will visit the underwater park, which will also include artificial coral reefs, a copy of a Bahraini pearl merchant's house, and sculptures.The park is intended to become the world's largest eco-friendly underwater theme park. Since 2005, Bahrain hosts an annual festival in March, titled Spring of Culture, which features internationally renowned musicians and artists performing in concerts.Manama was named the Arab Capital of Culture for 2012 and the Capital of Arab Tourism for 2013 by the Arab League and Asian Tourism for 2014 with the Gulf Capital of Tourism for 2016 by the Gulf Cooperation Council. The 2012 festival featured concerts starring Andrea Bocelli, Julio Iglesias and other musicians. As per the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Bahrain's economy contracted by 5.4% in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic severely affected the tourism and energy sector. According to a report by the UN Conference on Trade and Development , Bahrain's tourism sector is amongst the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The country's public debt in 2020 is $44.5 billion, or 130% of GDP. It is expected to rise to 155 % of GDP in 2026, according to IMF estimates. Military expenditure is the main reason for this increase in debt.