Bahrain's $50 million Lost Paradise of Dilmun Water Park is set to open in August at the Al Areen development.

It hopes to attract 300,000 visitors a year.

The project's finance and administration manager Derek Walsh told the Gulf Daily News, our sister newspaper, the park was "virtually constructed and complete".

"This is a completely new project for Bahrain, it is something very different which hasn't existed before," he said.

"I think it is going to be a unique attraction and people are going to come, I hope, in droves."

Walsh was speaking on the sidelines of the Bahrain International Travel Expo (BITE) 2007 at the Bahrain International Exhibition Centre, where the project has a stand.

He said that at the height of the tourist season, the project would create 150 jobs.

"We are filling the water now and ordering the equipment and hiring the staff we will need. We have a capacity of 5,000 visitors per day and we are hoping to reach 300,000 visitors a year," said Walsh.

Walsh said that an advertising push to attract visitors would soon begin. "We have just hired a sales and marketing director. He is going to be kicking off whatever sales and marketing projects we have planned," he said.

"We will be planning advertisements in newspapers, radio, TV. So he will be working with our agency to come up with a presentation," said Walsh.

The opening of the park is set to a provide a further boost to Bahrain's growing tourism sector and local hotels were already showing great interest in the project, he said.

"We have had a lot of interest from different hotels that are here as well because they are looking to arrange trips for their guests," said Walsh.

"It will definitely be a tourist attraction and something people will come specifically for and then enjoy the rest of what Bahrain has to offer.

"There will be a season, and most likely we will be open from March until the end of November, after that it will probably be too cold, but we are looking into heating the pools during the winter season so we can continue to open. "There are different attractions for different people, there's children's rides and we will most likely have a special ladies day or families day to attract in different groups of people. We are trying to attract the widest audience possible." - TradeArabia News Service