In recognition of her efforts to promote tourism, HE Ms Fatima bint Jaafar Al Sairafi, Minister of Tourism, has been awarded “Best womanTourism Minister of the Year” by the Pacific Area Travel Writers Association (PATWA) International Travel Awards at ITB Berlin, the world’s biggest travel and trade fair.
HE Ms Al Sairafi was chosen by a specialized judging panel that closely examined various woman tourism ministers around the globe accounting for 29 Women Tourism Ministers.
The PATWA International Travel Awards recognise individuals and organisations that have excelled and are involved in the promotion of tourism from different sectors of the travel trade such as aviation, hotels, travel agencies, tour operators, destinations, government bodies, tourism ministries and other service providers related directly or indirectly to the industry.
The PATWA International Travel Awards explained that HE Ms Al Sairafi’s achievements and accomplishments in upgrading the tourism and travel sector in the Kingdom of Bahrain played a key role in the decision to honour her with the “Best Women Tourism Minister of the Year” Award.
It further added that Her Excellency’s endeavours provided pivotal support to the businesses operating in the tourism field to recover from the impact of COVID-19, which allowed this vital area to rebound by 90% compared to the pre-pandemic era, outperforming the international recovery rate, which was estimated by the World Tourism Organisation at 65%. Her excellency has also played a pivotal role over the past months to promote Bahrain and other countries in the region as one destination which reflects how independent destinations can benefit from cooperation with other countries.
Commenting on this occasion, HE Ms Al Sairafi said: “This award reflects efforts of our teams at the Ministry of Tourism and Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BTEA), in addition to our partners in the private tourism establishments as well as other stakeholders. This is a testament to our keen desire to contribute as part of Team Bahrain to overcome the obstacles that the tourism sector went through during the pandemic and bring back this important field to its normal position to enable it to contribute to boosting the national economy, diversifying income sources, creating employment opportunities and attracting investments,”
She further pointed out that this coveted award will draw further attention to the tourism sector in the Kingdom of Bahrain, stating: “This honour will help in extending additional support to our national cadres who are exerting enormous efforts to elevate this fundamental area in the Kingdom of Bahrain, writing many success stories while highlighting the attractive elements of Bahrain’s tourism field for tourists as well as its capabilities to craft unique experiences”.
