Pearl Route project highlighted

Beijing, May 20 (BNA): President of the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities (BACA) Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa participated in the First World Conference on Tourism for Development, organised here by China in cooperation with the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) from May 18 to 20 under the theme "Tourism for Peace and Development". Addressing a panel discussion on "Sustainable Development through Tourism", Shaikha Mai highlighted the "Pearl Route", which registered in the UNESCO World Heritage, as an example of sustainable development in Muharraq to preserve the city’s cultural, social and economic features. Shaikha Mai asserted that culture is a means to consolidate human and civilisational values through making the material and non-material heritage as a means to boost sustainable cultural tourism that upgrades the cultural and social fabric of the Bahraini society. She affirmed that the Pearl Route tops BACA’s urban and cultural projects, given its role in promoting the kingdom as cultural destination and a civilisational meeting point. "The Pearl Route represents a major part of our culture of which we are proud," she said, stressing that the existence of a UNESCO World Heritage site in a country attracts tourists to it, citing the Pearl Route’s role in the tourism sector. Shaikha Mai said that the Pearl Route project is expected to be completed in 2018 in which the Muharraq city will be the Capital of Islamic Culture.