Marine tourism has promising potential given Bahrain’s geographical identity as an island, yet academic literature is largely unexplored. This paper explores how Bahrain’s marine tourism sector aligns with sustainable development and the blue economy. A narrative literature review on the current state of marine tourism in Bahrain is presented in this paper supplemented by regional policy documents, environmental reports, and sector-specific publications with oversight into existing initiatives regionally and trends on marine tourism in the blue economy framework globally. Findings reveal fragmented integration of marine tourism into sustainability goals and limited enforcement of conservation measures. The paper highlights the need for policy alignment, stakeholder engagement, and further empirical research to position marine tourism as a key pillar of Bahrain’s blue economy strategy.