Skål International Bahrain 370
The Skål club of Bahrain has a strong membership, with all the leading Bahrain hotels, airlines and travel agents well represented. The Club thrives on its mixture of long established and newly appointed members. The count of Skål Bahrain members is constantly changing as hotel and travel appointments in Bahrain may mean a stay of only 2 or 3 years for some; and we keep in contact with departed members and are continually welcoming new faces. We even have a few members in the Bahrain club from other Gulf countries.
We Skålleagues in the Kingdom of Bahrain meet on the last Tuesday of the month usually for dinner at one of the leading hotels or restaurants.
The Skål club of Bahrain was formed on 28th October 1972 when 44 members in the travel and hotel business in Bahrain decided to form the chapter. Many of the founder members had previous Skål club experience and membership. Still well known names in Bahrain among those founding members are Jamil Wafa, the club's first president, Shawqi Zayani, Ebrahim Amin, and several others including Sheikh Isa bin Mohd Al Khalifa, who was then with the Ministry of Information.
The Skål Club of Bahrain was affiliated to the Asian Area in 1979 and hosted the Asian Congress in September 1983, which put the Bahrain Club firmly on the world map of Skål Clubs.
It is appropriate however that Bahrain should have had an active Skål Club for the past four decades, as for many years now Bahrain has been an important cross-roads in the Gulf and Middle East, with a history as a transport staging post founded on its geographical position and the traditional friendship and hospitality of its people.
The Skål Club of Bahrain plays an active role in developing tourism in the Middle East in general and for Bahrain in particular by fostering contacts between hoteliers, airlines and travel agents, and this work will continue. The activities in Bahrain focus on building links between travel and related industries, bringing people together, introducing newcomers and welcoming visitors.
The 20th Asian Skål Assembly was held in Bahrain in September 1991, providing a major showcase for Bahrain's vast tourism potential. The Assembly received a full support from the government authorities of Bahrain. The delegates who attended were in a position to help promote Bahrain as a tourist destination in their respective countries and ultimately worldwide. In this way, the news of tourist activities in Bahrain will spread through the Skål International grapevine.
The club supports local charities and institutions and also helps many needy families. Beside the club being very active in the tourism and hospitality industry, Skål Bahrain is also supportive to social activities, where we were involved in the construction of a children’s playground in Manama for all children of Bahrain at a cost of over US-$ 120000, and also continuously supporting 360 needy families and students on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan. This is in practice over a decade, with distribution of eyeglasses to 400 needy students in all government schools and distribution of sports shoes to 2800 needy students beeing some more examples of Skål Bahrain's contributions to the community in the Kingdom.