Tourism revenues up 6.1% to $1.7b in T1-2019

AMMAN — Jordan’s tourism revenues during the first third of the year (T1-2019) have increased by 6.1 per cent to $1.7 billion, approximately JD1.2 billion, compared with around $1.6 billion generated in the same period last year. 

Preliminary data by the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ), carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, show a 2.5 per cent increase in the numbers of inbound tourism.

Some 1.63 million tourists visited Jordan in T1-2019, Petra reported.

In the January-February period alone, Jordan’s overall number of group tours increased by 18.4 per cent in 2019, to 74,193 groups.

The number of foreign tourists arriving in Jordan during the first quarter also rose by 33.3 per cent, and the number of overnight and group tourists increased by 36 per cent and 19.7 per cent respectively, Petra reported in April.

The overnight tourism category also saw a comparative increase of 6.4 per cent, to 633,246 visitors during the first two months of the year.

Aqaba, Wadi Rum, Petra, Jerash and Ajloun are among Jordan’s best performing tourist sites since the beginning of the year, officials have told The Jordan Times.

According to the Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority (PDTRA), 377,385 people visited Petra in the first four months of 2019, compared with 292,334 visitors for the same period in 2018.

A total of 138,110 people visited Petra during April of this year, the highest number ever in the history of the ancient city as a tourist attraction, the PDTRA said.

Jerash witnessed more than 16 per cent increase in tourist visitors in the first two months of the year, head of the Jerash Department of Antiquities Ziyad Ghunaimat said in March.

Aqaba is expecting more than 52 cruise ships this year, with more than 96,000 tourists on board, according to the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority.

The number of tourists coming from European countries grew 48.8 per cent, visitors from Asia and the Pacific grew 31.1 per cent, the Americas 25.8 per cent and the number of visitors from African countries grew 13.6 per cent, for the comparative duration.

In 2018, tourism revenues surpassed the $5 billion mark, signifying an 8 per cent increase from 2017’s $4.6 billion.