Tourism Ministry launches 3rd season of ‘Urdun Jannah’

MADABA — Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Nayef Al Fayez on Thursday launched the third season of the “Urdun Jannah” programme, which encourages domestic tourism, at the Madaba Visitors Centre.

Fayez said that the ministry has allocated an amount of JD6 million for the programme.

“The amount is not sufficient to support the tourism sector, we will arrange for the continuation of support,” he said.

According to the minister, the programme aims revitalise domestic tourism and encourage citizens to visit dozens of tourist destinations.

He noted that the programme provides diverse tourist patterns and “a unique tourism experience” that is family budget friendly.

“The programme aims to help the tourism sector rebound from the effects of the pandemic by involving tourism agencies in the planning and implementation of trips, providing transportation, tour guides, domestic aviation, and a variety of tourist facilities,” the minister said. 

It also involves restaurants and campsites operators, as well as road tour operators in Petra and Wadi Rum, Fayez said during the launch.

The tourism minister indicated that the ministry and the tourism board support the programme by covering more than half of the cost of the trip for Jordanians, as well as exempting children under the age of four from fees.

He noted that the number of participants in the programme's first phase of the trips totalled 337 from all governorates of the Kingdom, stressing that there will be no increase in prices until the end of the year.

The programme provides free transportation on well-equipped and modern tourist buses that depart from all governorates to the programme's designated tourist attractions. It also assigns a tour guide to each bus and supplies meals, according to the minister.

He noted that the programme offers one-day trips to many tourist locations in the northern, central and southern regions of the Kingdom, as well as overnight trips to tourist attractions that are most affected by the pandemic, such as Petra and Wadi Rum.

Public health and safety measures are maintained, such as measuring tour participants' temperature before boarding the buses, and ensuring adherence to physical distancing and mask-wearing, he said

Khawla Al Masri and her family, one of the first participants in the programme to Petra this season of Urdun Jannah, said that they participate in the programme every year.

“The programme has helped us explore our country more and we love it. The trips are always special and I hope they continue with the trips and include more location in addition to easing the registration process. We are so excited to go to Petra especially after the hard time we have had during the past year due to the pandemic,” Masri told The Jordan Times on Thursday.