Bahrain’s state museums, forts and archaeological sites recorded nearly 394,000 visitors in Jan-Aug this year, with Bahrain Fort accounting for almost two-thirds of the total, the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities reported today.
The fort received 246,409 visitors in the first eight months of the year, or 63 percent of the 393,536 visits made to museums, forts and archaeological sites around the country during the same period. Tree of Life and its visitor centre came second with 64,561 visits, followed by the Bahrain National Museum with 37,020.
Of those who visited Bahrain’s cultural heritage sites, 187,567 were foreign tourists, compared to 99,099 local visitors and 59,681 tourists who booked tickets through the Royal Bahrain Tourism & Trade Promotion Organization.
There were 17,324 visitors from outside the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, 15,877 from within the GCC, 6,918 organized groups, and fewer private school and nursery visitors.
By category, archaeological sites proved the biggest draw, pulling in 256,813 visits, followed by museums with 42,153 and the Pearling Path sites with 11,641.
Attendance fluctuated sharply across the year. January was by far the busiest month with 167,765 visits, followed by February’s 115,817 — a surge authorities have not explained in the released figures.
Numbers then collapsed to just 46 visits in March before rebounding through the spring: 21,761 in April, 29,472 in May and 26,865 in June. A dip to 15,496 in July gave way to a modest recovery in August, when visits climbed to 16,314, a rise of about 5.3 percent.
Bahrain Fort again topped the monthly rankings in August with 9,505 visitors, split between 4,487 foreign tourists and 4,304 Bahrainis. The Bahrain National Museum followed with 2,386 visits, and the Tree of Life visitor centre recorded 1,854.
Smaller heritage venues also featured in the data, including Al Jasra Crafts Centre, the Khalifiyah Library and Saar Settlement, each drawing between 200 and 250 visits during the month, underscoring the wide spread of cultural destinations across the kingdom beyond its best-known landmarks.
