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It was the busiest weekend of Bahrain's year. Hotels were filled to capacity, Bahrain International Airport was heaving, restaurants and bars were packed and for three days the eyes of the sporting world were focused on the kingdom.
The thousands of fans who descended on Bahrain reinforced just how important Formula One is to the country, and specifically, how much the race means to Bahrain's tourism industry.
As the Formula One fever that spread throughout the kingdom dissipates this week, government officials will be focusing on how to maintain the momentum.
And, as Bahrain's rival, Abu Dhabi, gets set to host the race next year, the pressure on Bahrain's tourism sector is mounting.
Now less than a month old, a new general tourism authority mandated with promoting the country and encouraging the private sector to invest is working out ways to jumpstart the sector, and to keep F1 fans coming back.
Currently operating under the Ministry of Information as the 'Tourism, Marketing and Promotion Project,' the new authority aims to kick-start Bahrain's tourism industry.
Heading the body is chief executive Mohammed Nass, a veteran of the financial and marketing sectors, and an architect of the Bahrain Investor Centre.
"Formula One is the flagship event of Bahrain and as a product it is very good to market and package worldwide," he says. "The Abu Dhabi F1 opening next year will be positive because it will generate publicity. When they mention F1 Abu Dhabi they will mention F1 Bahrain. This will drive up sport in the region and encourage investment.
"The circuits are not in competition with one another, they are cascading."
This view is consistent with Mr Nass's approach to the challenges facing Bahrain's tourism industry.
Chosen as a key sector for development by the Economic Development Board, growth has not been as robust as many would like.
But where critics see problems, such as a lack of resorts, hotels and attractions, Mr Nass sees opportunities. "I don't want to criticise the past," he says. "They have done a good job. We will just go one step further."
Bahrain is aiming for a 25 per cent growth in the tourism sector over the next five years, he says.
Tourism currently accounts for between six and seven per cent of the country's GDP and employs more than 8.4 per cent of the country's workforce. But Mr Nass expects tourism to account for at least 10.5 per cent of Bahrain's GDP by 2018, a figure that is on par with World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) projections.
One of the ways he hopes to achieve this is through his "lean and mean" authority that will employ no more than 100 people dedicated to marketing the country and helping and encouraging the private sector to invest.
The new body, which is currently going through the legislative process has the support of the Crown Prince, the government and industry leaders.
"The leadership has decided that this is an area that needs development," explains Mr Nass. "Being a small area in a ministry will not do it. It has to be something big. That is why we are forming the authority.
"I will be depending a lot on the private sector. I will not be setting up an elephant of an organisation," he explains.
The private sector will be the engine for growth, with the new authority acting more as a regulator rather than an operator.
The body, which will function from two floors of the new Chamber of Commerce building in Seef, will also deal with enforcement, operations and licensing.
In order to encourage investment and generate a greater chunk of Bahrain's GDP, one of the new body's jobs will be to "gift wrap" the country.
"Tourims goes from licensing to promotion to what they call gift-wrapping the country," says Mr Nass.
But as he observes, "to gift-wrap you need to have gifts".
With billions of dollars worth of plans on the drawing board such as a $1.6 billion Health Island, a $1.2 billion Al Jazayer Beach resort, the $1.2 billion Al Areen Development and the $4 billion Durrat Al Bahrain development, the country's tourism infrastructure is maturing.
But neighbouring countries' tourism plans are also driving forward. Oman and Qatar are thrusting ahead, while UAE has positioned itself as the region's prime tourist destination.
However, Mr Nass does not believe that Bahrain needs to compete with tourism hot-spots such as Dubai.
"I don't want to compete," he says. "We know what Dubai is offering and I don't want to mimic the Dubai model. Dubai is now Dubai Inc, a corporation. Dubai is not competing with Bahrain; it has put itself in a different league. It's like the Hong Kong and Singapore model. Hong Kong has been wild whereas Singapore has been slower, but going forward.
"There is enough business in the region. It doesn't matter if I become number two or the alternative location for visiting."
Instead of trying to compete, Mr Nass's formula is to encourage visitors to stay longer.
"I want day-trippers to stay longer. There were one million visitors from across the causeway last year. If they spend on average $1000 each, that is one billion dollars," he says.
He also wants to persuade people to return.
"That is my challenge, to secure repeat customers. It is cheaper for me to capture (them). He is already there, how can I target him?" he asks.
Although Mr Nass also wants the thousands of visitors who stream over the King Fahd Causeway each weekend to stay longer and offload more disposable income, he also wants to diversify away from this single market. "We want to attract international tourism in terms of packages and tours," he says.
"We would also like to see people coming for business but staying a day longer. But to stay a day longer you have to create facilities to do so."
One of his major drives is to establish more five-star hotels, which will in turn fuel the real estate sector.
According to Hotelier Middle East by 2010, five luxury five-star hotels are due to open including a Marriott Hotel on Amwaj Islands, a Kempinski Hotel in Bahrain's City Centre, a Four Seasons Hotel in Bahrain Bay, a JAL Bahrain resort and spa, and a Bahrain Rotana Hotel in Manama.
In addition, an 'upscale' Sofitel Thalassa Zallaq Beach Resort is set to open by 2010, as are 'deluxe' Marriott executive apartments in Manama.
Mr Nass is also working with the World Travel Organisation to create a standard for four-star hotels, in a bid to fill the gap between five-star hotels and the ubiquitous three-star hotels catering to the weekend market.
"The gap between four- and five-star is huge," he observes. "We don't have quality three-stars, we don't have bed and breakfasts with a style. They are categorised to certain sorts of people coming through the causeway."
Supplementing the 'economy' sector will be an Accor Hotel called Ibis Seef, as well as a 'mid-scale' Holiday Inn Manama Al Seef, Hotelier Middle East reported.
Another key resource that Mr Nass hopes to stimulate are small-and-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
"SMEs generate 80 per cent of the world tourism revenue worldwide. They will be a vital element of expansion because they best represent the service industry. This expansion will be across the board, from hotels to restaurants, to gift production, shops and rental companies," he says.
"Bahrainis like to be entrepreneurial. Give them help."
The development of vast shopping malls such as the City Centre in Seef will also attract new legions of 'shopper tourists.'
Shopping festivals and a range of shopping-oriented promotions will be introduced in a bid to secure more visitors with higher spending power.
All these developments should secure hundreds of jobs. Although most people currently employed in the tourism sector are expatriates, as projects gather pace, more and more Bahrainis will be absorbed into the sector through a vast job-creation scheme.
"Tourism is a jump-starter for the economy because it pushes everyone else to work," Mr Nass points out. "And, if we do it right we can create a lot of jobs."
But the sector also needs to go back to square one. As Mr Nass points out, "Do we have an information centre for tourists?"
Similarly, Bahrain must also build on its key selling points.
Mr Nass wants to target Bahrain's 5,000-year-old rich historical heritage, which to date, has been under-developed.
"We would like to promote our historical sites. There are plans to create facilities around them. If you go to a site, you don't see facilities, coffee shops, somewhere to relax. All that is to come," he explains.
Every historical site from Arad Fort to Bahrain Fort will be "elevated" he says by improved services, promotion and, where possible, better access.
Bahrain can also build on the success of the BIC. Outside the Formula One, the circuit is drawing thousands every year through a host of alternative events.
However, Bahrain's most important resource and its key weapon in its bid to become a tourism hub are its people, Mr Nass.
They are the ones who will make it happen.
His goal is to tap into Bahrain's well of human capital to achieve the sector's ambitious goals. "The most important aspect is people. Tourism is people servicing people. We need a lot of tourist guides, people with a smile," he says.
And it is this that he thinks will make all the difference. "We want to make Bahrain a destination of choice; that people come here because it has something.
"People will come back if we receive them with a smile."
