As Jordan marks tourism day, stakeholders report good news so far this year

AMMAN ­­— Jordan marked World Tourism Day on Wednesday, reporting an increase in the number of visitors and revenues, Tourism Ministry Secretary General Issa Gammoh told The Jordan Times on Wednesday.

Celebrated annually on September 27, the World Tourism Day aims to foster awareness among the international community of the importance of tourism and its social, cultural, political and economic value, according to the World Tourism Organisation.

The UN General Assembly, which announced the adoption of 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, said on its website that tourism can contribute to all the three dimensions of sustainable development — economic, social and environmental — and each of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

On the occasion, the Tourism Ministry organised several activities including 16 campaigns to raise awareness of environmental impacts of tourism and to clean archaeological sites across the Kingdom, Gammoh said.

Archaeological sites are “the most important resource for Jordan”, the official said. 

The first eight months of this year have shown positive indicators in terms of the numbers of tourists, tourism facilities and credit loans, according to Gammoh.

Jordan has moved up two places in the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) 2017, ranking 75th globally compared to its rank in 2015.

The numbers of tourist facilities such as hotels, lodges, restaurants and travel agencies have increased by 18 per cent, according to the official.

While the number of visitors of the Middle East have plummeted by 4.1 per cent, however, that was not the case in Jordan, Gammoh said. 

The main reasons behind the increase are the improvement in the region’s stability and the increasing awareness of Jordan as a safe destination despite its location in a turbulent region, thanks to promotion efforts by stakeholders, according to Gammoh.

According to Tourism Ministry figures, the number of overnight and one-day visitors in the first half of 2017 reached 2,410,583 compared to 2,192,627 in the same period of 2016, marking an increase of 9.9 per cent.

In the first half of 2016, some 204,530 visited Petra, while in the same period this year, the figure rose to 297,615, according to the ministry.

For the next high season, according to Jordan Society of Tourism and Travel Agents’ (JSTA) President Moahammad Samih, Petra’s hotels are fully booked for October and November.

Samih called on the Tourism Ministry to work on reopening some hotels that went out of business during the recession witnessed in the past five years.

In addition to the Jordan Tourism Board (JTB), the private sector also contributes to promoting Jordan, said Samih, adding that some travel agencies spend around JD80,000 annually to host foreign travel agents and participate in international tourism exhibitions.

In 2017, Jordanian travel agencies took part in exhibitions and tourism shows such as the World Travel Market in London, ITB in Berlin, TOP RESA in France and Arabian Travel Market in Dubai.

Abelmoneam Ayasrah, a tourist guide, said that he did more tours until September of this year than in the entire year of 2016.

Amjad Jokhan, a tourist restaurant manager, told the Jordan Times that in 2016 he used to receive two to three tourist groups daily, while this year the number has doubled.

Jordan is a land steeped in history, it has been home to some of mankind’s earliest settlements and villages, and relics of many of the world’s great civilisations can still be seen today, according to JTB website, which boasts that Jordan has historically served as a strategic nexus connecting Asia, Africa and Europe.