Second edition of the Manama Gold Festival 2023 sees 105% increase in number of participants

The festival saw 416 gold, jewellery and pearl shops in Souq Al Manama, up from 203 shops in the first version in 2022

Manama

The second edition of the Manama Gold Festival 2023, held under the patronage of Fatima Bint Jaffer Al Sairafi, Tourism Minister, Bahrain, wrapped up with a closing ceremony at the Bab Al Bahrain recently.

The Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BTEA) board members, members of the Souq Al Manama development committee, representatives of the business community, and gold traders attended the ceremony.

The second edition of the Manama Gold Festival 2023 was a huge success, with 5,543 shoppers recorded over the course of 45 days, representing 61 nationalities worldwide, up 257% from 1,549 shoppers from 12 nationalities the previous year.

The festival featured 416 gold, jewellery and pearl shops in Souq Al Manama, up from 203 shops in the first version in 2022, a 105% increase.

This year’s festival provided weekly, instant and grand prizes, as well as informative and artistic installations about Bahraini gold history by Bahraini artistes and designers. In addition to organizing a pop-up market, including F&B trucks, women’s outwear vendors, and wood crafts vendors.

Workshops were held specializing in gold, its types, price, raw gold, the art of goldsmithing, the art of designing and applying jewellery in the classroom, and 3D-style drawing on paper.

The festival also hosted live music shows featuring The Brother Guitarists, Hazem Alrawas, Silvia Saad, Abdulla Haji, Noor Albasri, and Basma Osman.

“We are delighted to bring the second edition of the Manama Gold Festival 2023 to a successful conclusion. It has a positive impact by adding more splendour and glow to Souq Al Manama’s long-standing genuineness with its renowned trade and tourist history,” Fatima Bint Jaffer Al Sairafi, Tourism Minister, Bahrain said.

“The festival’s success story will undoubtedly pave the way forour tourism strategy 2022-2026 and accelerate tourism development, which in turn will boost this promising industry’s contribution to the national economy,” she added.

“We are pleased with the success of this festival, recording a high level of visitors attending this year’s festival from locals, expats and tourists from around the globe,” Dr Nasser Qaedi, CEO of BTEA commented.

“The festival grossed around 4 million BD with over 8,400 receipts, a 220% increase from 1.25 million BD in 2022. These overwhelming figures reflect the excellent reputation of Bahraini gold and jewellery. We at BTEA recommit to adopt innovative and out-of-the-box tourism offerings to diversify tourism products in order to attract more tourists and new markets,” he added.

“We are thrilled with the festival’s impressive outcome this year. The 4 million BD spent mirrors Manama Gold’s amazing achievement, drawing many buyers and tourists and playing a vital role in gold trade recovery in one of the oldest and most genuine markets regionally and globally,” Nabeel Al Zain, Bahrain Gold Association Chairman, said.

“The Manama Gold Festival has been a valuable addition to Manama Souq that markedly helped this historic market to recover with diverse shopping options, primarily the well-known Bahraini gold and jewellery,” Sayed Fadhel Sharaf, Souq Al Manama development committee member and ‘Hekayat Al Manama’ initiative founder said.

There were 32 gold shops sponsoring the festival’s prizes this year, mainly: Malabar Gold, Jumbo Gold, Alseef Jewelry, Mashallah City, Altawheed Jewelry, Alhashimi Pearls, Aljasrah Jewelry, Alsharhan Pearls, Niyaz Pearls, Manama Pearl, Bin Naser Jewelry, Alnafeeseh Jewelry, Tbabat Al Bahrain Jewelry and Bahar Jewelry.

Courtesy: oananews.org