New five-star hotel breaks ground in Petra

AMMAN — Chief Commissioner  of Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority  (PDTRA) Suleiman Farajat announced that the construction of a five-star hotel in Petra has broken ground. 

Stakeholders recently obtained a construction permit, allowing the building process to begin. Located within a group of hotels, the new facility will include nearly 200 rooms, in addition to restaurants and lounges, Farajat said.

The hotel is expected to be fully completed within the next two to two and a half years, he added. 

According to Farajat, this hotel is one of a number of planned five-star hotels in Petra that have obtained permits. Once completed, it may be the largest five-star hotel in Petra. Previously, the authority announced that five new hotels had been cleared to begin construction this year, which will provide at least 500 rooms. 

He added that new services will be available in Petra in the future, such as parasailing, an adventure village and other activities. Petra Pink Nights will return next August, and include Arab and foreign artists, he said.

A number of new programmes will also be launched in nearby Al Bayda, including a fixed balloon project and four-wheel drive vehicle activities.  

Each of these new developments seeks to attract visitors from various markets, and are anticipated to spur interest and commercial activity in the region. 

The number of visitors to the ancient city of Petra during the first half of this year reached nearly 700,000, breaking a record for the highest number of tourists to the site during this period, according to official statistics issued by the Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority.

Additionally, the number of tourists in the first half of the year increased 102 per cent compared to last year, which saw approximately 345,713 visitors. 

Commenting on this project, Investment Director at PDTRA Hassan Al Lawama told The Jordan Times on Tuesday that these numbers indicate that this year’s total number of visitors could exceed the number seen in 2019, which saw approximately 539,363 tourists in its first six months. 

He added that these new developments will increase the number of tourists staying in Petra for more than a day, necessitating a greater number of hotel rooms to ensure that visitors are comfortable.