Bahrain is fast becoming a major centre for international exhibitions, attracting huge bookings for next year, said a top government official.

Industry and Commerce Minister Dr Hassan Fakhro, chairing the Bahrain Exhibitions and Conference Authority (Beca) board meeting on Monday, praised a qualitative shift achieved by the exhibition sector during this year and the surplus in bookings parallel with the greatest economic boom in the country.

Dr Fakhro pointed out positive results achieved in performance and profitability rate level which proves the success of government plans to develop the exhibitions and conferences sectors.

The minister said that this sector is very important because it provides investment and commercial opportunities.

Bahrain now owns a viable centre to attract major international exhibitions to the region.

Beca acting chief executive Debbie Stanford made a presentation on overall performance during the last months of the current year.

Debbie also noted huge booking requests received for the coming year after successful management attempts to attract major international exhibitions entering the Bahrain market for the first time.

She demonstrated the authority's success under the minister's directions in attracting world markets and making Bahrain a promotional centre for financial and commercial companies.-TradeArabia News Service