Shop Bahrain, the largest nationwide festival in the kingdom, was launched on January 19 by the chief executive officer of the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority, Shaikh Khalid bin Humood Al Khalifa.

The third-edition of the festival, co-organized by the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BTEA) and Tamkeen, is held in cooperation with the partners from the public and private sectors such as Batelco, Gulf Air, and YK Al Moayyed & Sons.

‘Shop Bahrain’, is a unique 30-day celebration of Bahrain’s hospitality and tourism offering for the entire family and boasts a wide range of events and unbeatable promotions for residents and visitors. The main attraction is the ‘Festival City’, which will run for a period of two weeks, from 4pm to 10pm on weekdays and 4pm to 12 am on weekends. The Festival City will be located at Bahrain Bay.

The ‘Festival City’ will bring together numerous activities, entertainment and carnival games for the entire family along with an outdoor market including local vendors and restaurants. Live performances will be held on a daily basis from 5pm to 10pm.

“It gives us great pleasure to launch the third-edition of the Bahrain Shopping Festival. Shop Bahrain is a unique celebration filled with plenty of surprises for the entire family. It aims to further drive the growth of the tourism and retail sectors in the kingdom further positioning Bahrain as a welcoming destination,” said Shaikh Khalid.

The festival will mirror the kingdom’s position as an accessible family destination, renowned for its close proximity to the Gulf countries with easy access through the King Fahad Causeway and the Bahrain International Airport. Organizers also held a Gulf-wide roadshow spanning the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar in order to promote the festival.

Further commenting on the upcoming launch of Shop Bahrain, Festival director Yousif Alkhan said: “We are more than happy to launch the largest nationwide event. Shop Bahrain is held during a period where the Gulf countries are enjoying their school break. We expect an influx of tourists to arrive to the kingdom and enjoy the fun-filled experience and entertainment offered by Shop Bahrain.”

Shop Bahrain will feature the return of the ‘Taste Tour’ that will include a total of 29 participating restaurants. Participants will be able to sample dishes and vote for their favorite restaurants. They will also have the opportunity to win a Q50 Infinity as part of a ‘The Taste Tour’ raffle draw.

Shop Bahrain will also include a fun-filled schedule of entertaining activities at the participating shopping malls and hotels. Shoppers will be enrolled in the Festival’s loyalty system when purchasing directly from any participating outlet and partner allowing them to win a wide range of prizes including one of the 12 cars and over 25,000 valuable prizes. The four weekly raffle draws will take place at the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism headquarters.

Shoppers and visitors can learn more about "Shop Bahrain" through the website: www.shopbahrain.com or through the account @shopbahrain on the social networking channels Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. The Festival organizers have also launched a dedicated whatsapp channel on 38999111. - TradeArabia News Service