Industry and Commerce Minister Zayed bin Rashid Alzayani participated in a round-table forum on the sidelines of the International Tourism Bourse (ITB). UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) Secretary-General Taleb Rifai attended the discussion session along with South African, Costa Rican, Brazilian tourism ministers and the Egyptian Ambassador in Germany.
The discussion focused on "the importance of sporting events and their impacts on tourism". In this regard, the minister underlined Bahrain’s experiences in hosting and organizing Formula 1 Grand Prix. "The Kingdom of Bahrain is the first country in the region to embrace such a motorsport event, which attracts 350 to 400 million viewers all over the world.", he said, stressing the importance of the global sporting championship whose windfall benefits transportation, hotels, restaurants, shopping outlets and other services.