More than 60 per cent of the total 2.7 million tourists in 1996 were from Saudi Arabia. Since the causeway opened, more than 20 hotels have been built, bringing the number to 62, seven of them luxury five-star hotels. Rajab says more are planned. Bahrain's cosmopolitan atmosphere means women can swim or sunbathe in western-style swimsuits at the hotels. A whole entertainment industry has grown up along the city's Exhibition Road.
Bars have bands and singers from the Philippines, India and Lebanon, or DJs spinning dance music.
Restaurants include American fast food, Mexican and Italian. Some foreign women have written to newspapers complaining about being mistaken for numerous Russian prostitutes who have come to the island. But police are quick to clamp down on rowdiness, and Manama is no wide-open Sin City. The country is also trying to promote non-entertainment attractions. Rajab, the tourism official, says the government is spending millions of dollars to restore the island's historical sites.