Tourism makes a slow comeback to strife-torn Bahrain

Traders in the Manama suq (traders market) have welcomed news that cruise liners will be returning to Bahrain this winter, but say they need more than a few thousand cruise tourists to kick start their business. The area was hit hard by unrest last year, with some businesses closing in the aftermath because of a drop in the number of foreign tourists and a sharp decline in the number of people spending money there. Many shoppers were scared away by anti-government protests, while gangs of opposition demonstrators forced many businesses to close by threatening shopkeepers. There have also been attempts to hold protests in the area this year and there was a large police presence in Manama on Thursday to stop an unauthorised protest, which would further disrupt business going ahead. However, busine