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AMMAN — Tourism representatives said on Monday that establishing a national chamber is in the sector’s best interest, following a substantial drop in tourist visits to the Kingdom over the past five years.

MP Amjad Maslamani, chair of the Lower House Tourism Committee, earlier this month submitted a proposal for a tourism chamber law, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

At a recent Lower House committee meeting, Maslamani said the panel will work to finalise the draft law during the current parliamentary session, stressing that there is a consensus to establish a tourism chamber.

Shaher Hamdan, president of the Jordan Society of Tourism and Travel Agents, said a national chamber would enhance the tourism sector in the Kingdom.

“It would organise the whole sector’s activities, especially given that tourist flow into Jordan has witnessed a huge decline over the past few years,” he told The Jordan Times. 

“We want to enhance Jordan’s image by promoting its stability and security. We want to promote it as a safe destination despite all the wars around us. It is our responsibility to deliver this message to the world,” Hamdan added.

The sector leader said tourism benefits all other economic fields in the country, adding that tourism revenues used to amount to 14 per cent of the national income during previous years, but it currently constitutes no more than 2 per cent.

Salah Bitar, president of the Aqaba Hotels Society, noted that tourism agencies in Aqaba have submitted a similar proposal before, since the Kingdom “needs more tourism promotion”. 

“It is about time that all tourism agencies, committees and boards come together in one place, and agree to certain unified terms,” Bitar told The Jordan Times, adding that Egypt witnessed an increase in tourism activity after launching a chamber for the sector.

He said the process of establishing such a chamber would not be costly, since all involved tourism entities already exist, but simply requires a law to be approved by the government.

“Aqaba, over the past few years, has recorded a sharp decline in the number of European visitors, We need a method of dealing with this issue,” Bitar said.

Khaled Nawafleh, president of the Petra Hotels Association, said the number of visitors to Petra dropped almost 75 per cent from 2010 to 2015, with the past two years witnessing the worst tourist turnout.

He compared Petra’s 380,000 visitors in 2014 with Sharm El Sheikh’s reception of around 100,000 tourists in one day, mostly Russian and British, prior to the alleged bombing that destroyed a Russian flight leaving the Egyptian resort.

Nawafleh said that through uniting tourism boards and agencies in one chamber, sector representatives can unite their services and requests and provide better quality experiences to tourists. 

“There is something wrong in the sector and it’s about time we fixed it,” he added.

AMMAN — “Professionalising” social work is key to elevating the level of provided services, Social Development Minister Reem Abu Hassan said Monday.

Speaking at a meeting with academics and social work experts, the minister noted that professionalising social work in Jordan is the ministry’s “top priority”, incorporated in the Jordan Vision 2025 plan.

“It is not a bonus, but a necessity,” Abu Hassan said, adding that the experience of accountants and journalists in establishing professional associations is a sign for optimism.

Stressing the need for all stakeholders to cooperate, the minister said it is “not difficult” to develop work certifications for social workers, as part of a professional track connected to a system of incentives and rewards.

Yassin Hudaib, a social work expert with over 45 years of experience in the field, highlighted the importance of systemising the profession and organising the affairs of social workers.

He added that educational, medical and industrial institutions that are supposed to hire social workers lack awareness of the significance of doing so.

The gathering discussed the results of several meetings of a committee formed by the ministry that includes members of concerned academic institutions and civil society organisations.

The committee recommended enhancing the capacities of social work departments at universities, establishing a certified organisation to certify social workers and enhance the capacities of those working in the field.

In addition, the proposals included endorsing a social work law that could be the basis for establishing an association for social workers and encouraging Jordanian social workers, to become part of regional and international networks.

Other experts attending the deliberations suggested coming up with a specific definition of the social worker, as the profession has expanded to include non-professionals, a step that should be followed by a survey of the number of social workers to facilitate professionalising the sector. 

AMMAN — Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh on Monday stressed the need for a joint global plan to combat terrorism, recognise its financing parties and dry up its resources.  

At separate meetings with German Ambassador to Jordan Birgitta Siefker-Eberle and Chinese Ambassador to Jordan Weifang Pan, Tarawneh discussed the repercussions of regional developments.

The speaker highlighted Jordan’s counterterrorism efforts, stressing the need for an international plan to combat terrorism, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra. 

He also underscored the Lower House’s achievements, highlighting Jordan’s bid to partner for democracy status with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. 

The speaker briefed the diplomats on the Kingdom’s comprehensive reform process.

Highlighting the burden borne by Jordan as a result of hosting a large number of Syrian refugees, Tarawneh thanked all countries that have assisted the Kingdom in dealing with this issue, especially Germany and China. 

The German ambassador expressed her appreciation of Jordan’s regional role, especially in regard to hosting refugees and combating terrorism.

She praised Jordan’s reform process and noted that her country is keen on developing its relations with the Kingdom.  

The Chinese ambassador stressed his country’s commitment to developing cooperation with Jordan, noting that Sino-Jordanian relations have substantially developed, especially in the educational, cultural, economic, commercial and parliamentary fields.  

He commended Jordan’s role, especially in support of the Palestinian cause and in receiving waves of refugees, noting that China will continue backing Jordan’s role in the region. 

AMMAN — Six political parties which have recently formed a new political movement have mostly centrist ideologies that seek to achieve reforms through purely national programmes, a founding member said Monday.

“Most of the parties are of centrist ideologies, carrying nationalist, conservative and liberal thoughts that lie at the heart of the country’s interests and are not imported from abroad,” National Current Party Secretary General Saleh Irsheidat told The Jordan Times.

Earlier this week, the National Current Party, Stronger Jordan, the Reform and Renewal Party (Hasad), the National Democratic Party, Al Hayah Party and Al Awn National Party formed a new political movement under the name: “Renewal Current”.

The secretaries general of the six parties have announced that the movement’s political agenda is centred around enhancing the democratic approach and promoting modernity and pluralism.

Irsheidat said the six parties all agree on the principles of democracy, reform, rule of law and having a civil state.

“The ideas we share and we will promote all stem from the Royal Discussion Papers by His Majesty King Abdullah.”

Between December 2012 and September 2014, His Majesty King Abdullah authored and published five papers that dealt with democracy, parliamentary government and political reform in Jordan.

Asked whether the newly-formed coalition seeks to run in the upcoming parliamentary elections under a unified list, Irshediat said: “It is an idea but our main objective is to help achieve reforms and democracy.”

The former youth minister expressed hopes that the new political movement would succeed in attracting more political powers and independent figures.

“We hope to establish the base of an inclusive, nationwide reform project.” 

AMMAN — The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply on Monday urged media outlets to ensure the accuracy of the reports they publish on challenges facing retailers of popular brand products.

In a statement carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, the ministry said inaccurate news on this issue negatively affects the commercial sector and other economic fields connected to it.

The ministry is in contact with the Jordan Chamber of Commerce, the Garment Traders Association and the Amman Chamber of Commerce on what media outlets recently published about the intention of some companies that represent international brands in Jordan to exit the local market.

The Jordan and Amman chambers of commerce presented to the ministry reports on challenges and operational costs facing brand product retailers and malls.

Last week, Industry, Trade and Supply Minister Maha Ali met with owners of brand retailers and other trade sector leaders, Petra reported.

Ali listened to the owners’ notes and asked them to supply the ministry with a detailed study on operational costs.

The international brand retail sector is a vital and active one that witnesses the closure of some agencies and the opening of new ones all the time, the ministry said in the statement, adding that this is due to issues related to competiveness, the market’s size and changes in operational costs.

The ministry in 2015 registered 400 individual establishments and 248 companies selling clothes, adding that it took measures to facilitate importing operations and speed up customs clearance.

Moreover, the government has also taken measures to vitalise the business environment and economy by lowering customs duties and taxes on some commodities in the retail sector such as clothes, shoes, cosmetics and toys, the ministry said.   

AMMAN — Anti-Narcotics Department (AND) agents have recently foiled an attempt to smuggle over 2 million Captagon pills that were hidden in a truck which was heading to a neighbouring country, official sources said on Monday.

One Jordanian was arrested and police are searching for other suspects, a senior AND official told The Jordan Times.

“We received a tip about this shipment over a month ago and monitored it when it left the Zarqa Free Zone heading to Aqaba,” the source told The Jordan Times. 

AND agents pulled over the truck in Zarqa Governorate, some 22km east of Amman, and searched it, according to a Public Security Department (PSD) statement.

“Agents found bags hidden in secret compartments in the truck,” the PSD statement said.

AND personnel found 15 bags that contained 2.5 million Captagon pills, according to the official and the PSD statement.

The suspect was referred to the State Security Court prosecutor for further questioning and indictment, the PSD statement added.

Pills such as Captagon (fenethylline) are usually manufactured and transported from neighbouring countries in the north via Jordan to rich countries on the southern border.

Smugglers target rich countries because one Captagon  pill there is worth around JD7, while its market value in Jordan does not exceed JD1 per pill, officials have previously told The Jordan Times.

AMMAN — The Transport Ministry and the Land Transport Regulatory Commission (LTRC) are scheduled next week to adjust public transport fares, Transport Minister Ayman Hatahet said Monday.

He expected the fares to decline in light of the recurrent drops of oil  prices. Hatahet referred to a joint study conducted by the ministry and the LTRC, which analysed the impact of the change in diesel and gasoline prices, in addition to other operational costs such as licensing and registration fees, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

AMMAN — The Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army (JAF) on Monday celebrated Arbour Day at the Princess Iman Suburb in Zarqa. 

Vice Chairman of the Joint Chief-of-Staff Maj. Gen. Ziad Majali, deputising for King’s Military Adviser and Chairman of the Joint Chief-of-Staff Gen. Mashal Al Zaben and senior JAF officers planted olive and perennial saplings in the governorate, some 22km east of Amman, to maintain green areas.

During the year, JAF will be planting thousands of saplings around the Kingdom, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

AMMAN — The government’s coordination office on human rights is organising a field visit on Thursday for several organisations and NGOs to Jweideh Correctional and Rehabilitation Centre to get acquainted with the condition of inmates, the government’s coordinator on human rights, Basil Tarawneh, said Monday. 

The visit is in line with the cooperation of the government and security institutions with NGOs, he noted, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

AMMAN — The Jordan Media Institute (JMI) held a two-day meeting last week that gathered more than 20 experts and representatives from seven Arab public broadcasters for a peer-to-peer activity on gender equality in the Southern Mediterranean region, according to a JMI statement released on Monday.

The meeting was part of JMI’s partnership with MedMedia, an EU-funded project for media reform, and in cooperation with the Permanent Conference of the Mediterranean Audiovisual Operators.

The participants from Jordan, Egypt, Palestine, Lebanon, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco highlighted the conditions of women in their public media organisations and efforts to promote gender equality in their editorial policies and human resources, as well as monitoring media content and using gender-sensitive language.