Owners of hotels, tourist camps hail ‘Urdun Jannah’ as tourist footfall sees rise

AMMAN — The “Urdun Jannah” programme has mitigated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Jordan’s “Golden Triangle” — Aqaba, Petra and Wadi Rum — according to owners of hotels and tourist camps.

The “Urdun Jannah” programme, a joint effort between the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and the Jordan Tourism Board, was launched to promote domestic tourism for Jordanians and the country’s residents to revive domestic tourism and alleviate the losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Osama Abu Talib, the owner of a tourist camp in Wadi Rum, said that the “Urdun Jannah” programme is contributing to keep pace with the difficult economic conditions imposed by the coronavirus pandemic on the tourism sector and Jordanians.

He commended the programme that has contributed in promoting tourism in Jordan’s “Golden Triangle”, notably in Wadi Rum’s camps.

George Dababneh, a director at a five-star hotel in Aqaba, lauded the role of Tourism Ministry-supported domestic tourism programmes in Aqaba, noting that the move has helped the tourist facilities to maintain their staff, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Saturday.

Yazan Khudair, assistant director-general of Visit Jordan and director of the “Urdun Jannah” programme, said that the number of people who visited Aqaba through the programme has reached nearly 28,000.  

The “Urdunn Jannah’’ programme provides free transportation (buses) and meals for the participants, as well as a tour guide for each bus. The ministry covers over 50 per cent of the programme’s total cost.

The programme, designed for Jordanians and residents, provides one-day trips to several tourist destinations in northern, central and southern regions in the Kingdom, and overnight trips in the areas most affected by the pandemic that have suffered from the cessation of in-bound tourism, such as Aqaba, Petra, Wadi Rum, and other areas.

People can view tourist destination options, services provided, prices and reservations, through the “jannah.jo” application.