The Minister of Industry, Commerce & Tourism Mr. Zayed R. Alzayani affirmed that there are investment projects worth over $32 billion and tourism is an important part of that. The came during an event was in the sideline of Gateway Gulf Investment Forum, where the minister participated as the official speaker in the second panel discussion under the title "Real estate & tourism,”. The panel was led by Mr. John Defterios of CNN Money.
The Minister touched a number of topics including the construction sector in Bahrain is strong and growing where hotels and restaurants witnessed annual growth 9%  and 5.5% growth year on year for real estate and business activities in 2017. In addition to the newly established  RERA is very important to making Bahrain a premier real estate investment destination across all segments. The establishment of RERA complements previous efforts to attract foreign and private investment into the property market. In 2016, Bahrain allowed overseas investors 100% ownership in real estate. The minister also talked about Bahrain's Tourism strategy that aims to build on the tourism fundamentals of Access, Accommodation, Attractions and Awareness through causeway development and airport expansion. He added that the country is already well positioned in tourism and has a strong starting point for future growth.
The Minister also reviewed a number of future tourism projects such as durrat Crescent & Dawn, Bilaj Al Jazayer, Al Naseem, Al Maydan Mall, Hasabi and Hawar Island.