The Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BTEA) honoured 85 tour guides during a graduation ceremony held at the Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention (BIECC) on the 14th of January. The event was held in the presence of the Chief Executive Officer of BTEA, H.E. Shaikh Khaled bin Humood Al Khalifa.
Certificates were distributed to the second batch of tour guides following the successful completion of the comprehensive training program organized by the BTEA in collaboration with Tamkeen, United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the World Federation of Tourist Guides Associations (WTFGA).
“Through launching this initiative in collaboration with the UNWTO and WTFGA, the BTEA has increased the number of certified tour guides in the Kingdom to 185 in order to meet market needs. By having well-qualified tour guides, we aim to promote the Kingdom as the ideal tourist destination and further attract tourists from all around the world,” said the CEO of BTEA, H.E. Shaikh Khaled bin Humood Al Khalifa.
“In addition, training tour guides in the Kingdom comes in line with BTEA’s overall strategy aimed at developing and strengthening the tourism sector under the slogan of ‘Ours. Yours.’, which contributes towards the Kingdoms economy and the 2030 Economic Vision,” he added.
Involving both theoretical and hands-on training of the candidates, the final week of the programme was dedicated to selecting the best candidates to be trained as trainers, in order to prepare the trainers for mentorship, providing the required leadership abilities and knowledge to train new applicants and recruits at the BTEA. A total of 93 participants took part in the training course, with 85 tour guides successfully completing the programme, and a total of 14 which were trained to be trainers.
“Through this initiative, we aim to increase the number of qualified tour guides in order to meet the growing demand in the tourism sector. By having internationally qualified tour guides, and working in close cooperation with various local and international bodies in order to attract visitors from around the world; our ultimate aim is to enhance not only the experience of tourists visiting, but also increase their overall length of stay further benefiting the Kingdom’s tourism sector,” said the Director of Facilities and Tourism Services at the BTEA, Mr. Hesham Al Saken.
The BTEA strives to strengthen relations on a local and international level, drawing on international expertise in order to launch initiatives that contribute to the development of the Kingdom’s tourism sector.