The Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BTEA), in close cooperation with the Information & eGovernment Authority (iGA) has launched the ‘Domestic Tourism Survey’, which aims to monitor all recreational and leisure trips of residents for the year 2016-2017.
The survey, which is being introduced for the first time in the Kingdom under the Tourism Statistics Development Program, comes in line with the Kingdom’s efforts to support the development of the tourism industry at large by understanding and analyzing the various aspects of tourism activities and services provided in the Kingdom. 
The implementation of this survey is conducted through a call center in accordance to a joint cooperation agreement signed between both authorities in regards to the implementation of the ‘Tourism Expenditure Survey to Quantify Inbound and Outbound Tourism for the year 2017’ according to the requirements of the World Tourism Organization.
"We are pleased to continue our fruitful cooperation with the iGA through the launch of a dedicated call center to implement this joint venture, which is first of its kind in the Kingdom. The results will provide us with a detailed overview of the tourism sector by closely monitoring the inbound and outbound tourism movement which will help us improve the sector," said the Chief Executive Officer of the BTEA, H.E. Shaikh Khalid bin Humood Al Khalifa
The survey aims to provide detailed data on the daily journeys including overnight trips of domestic visitors within the Kingdom of Bahrain as well as data related to outbound travelers. The data obtained will determine the development indicators of the industry and help decision-makers develop policies that are based on accurate data.
In order to facilitate the collection of data, the iGA has set up a call center to conduct and receive calls and respond to inquiries and suggestions from citizens and residents. The call center will contact heads of households from the target group to conduct the survey which will include questions about their domestic destinations in the Kingdom, purpose, highlight source of information available to the domestic tourist, assistance provided during the planning process of the trip, as well as determining the means of transportation used, identifying the type of accommodation and the duration of the trip. The survey also includes the type of activities and events during the trip and the total cost of the trip.
The call center is an effective link and a tool of precision that will contribute to increasing the trust among the target group in order to obtain the right information and handle any obstacles and difficulties instantly. The call center staff will contact Bahraini and non-Bahraini families to fill out the information provided in the electronic form directly as well as respond to the comments. Inquiries are also received via the hotline at 17878162 and 17878165.
The survey will be based on methodological foundations and recognized international standards in order to measure the demand for recreation and entertainment activities by analyzing the characteristics of the visitor and the rate of tourism expenditure, which is an important input to the preparation of the sub-tourism account.
The results of the survey will be used to develop the tourism product and understand the effective marketing and promotion channels suited to the interests of the domestic tourist. The project seeks to identify several statistical aspects, including the evaluation of the amounts spent tourists in Bahrain according to the various sections of the transportation and accommodation expenses included, recreational activities and other tourism services, to identify the main reasons that hinder families from domestic tourism visits, as well as accepting suggestions and making observations to further develop tourism activities in the Kingdom.

Source: BNA