Jordan second best Arab destination for German tourists

AMMAN — Jordan has been recognised as the second best tourism destination in the Arab region for German visitors, according to the Go Asia/Go Arabia group.

The Kingdom was voted by travel and business professionals via goasia.de, a leading German tourism website. 

The Jordan Tourism Board’s (JTB) Europe-targeted campaign to promote Jordan as a tourist destination was also acknowledged as the best destination campaign in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa regions in 2015.

The campaign, carried out in partnership with Expedia Media Solutions and Travelocity websites, sought to introduce German, French and British travellers to a variety of attractions in the country which include but are not limited to Petra.

The campaign’s slogan “Discover Jordan… Petra is just the beginning”, in addition to images and a video of Jordan’s sites resulted in a 35 per cent increase in the number of visitors and a 43 per cent increase in hotel reservations compared to the year 2014, according to official figures.

Tourism Minister Nayef Al Fayez and JTB Managing Director Abed Al Razzaq Arabiyat on Thursday attended the award ceremony held on the sidelines of the International Tourism Bourse (ITB) in Berlin, which concludes on Sunday.

Fayez highlighted the success of the board’s promotional campaigns in increasing the number of visitors, describing the award as “an international recognition” of Jordan’s tourism assets.

He added on Saturday that Jordan’s participation in the exhibition was “very important” as part of the efforts to return the influx of tourists to its normal rates, and to clarify the image of the Kingdom as a tourist destination, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

Arabiyat highlighted the diversity of tourism attractions in Jordan, adding that “strategic partnerships” enhanced the efforts to expose Jordan’s historical, religious and adventure sites, despite regional unrest.

The ITB brought together participants from some 120 countries, where they had a chance to communicate and build partnerships.

A number of Jordanian tour operators participating in the exhibition signed cooperation agreements with counterparts from several countries to boost the influx of tourists into Jordan, Petra reported.