Khaberni - The Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Imad Hijazin, said on Tuesday that the ministry will reactivate the "Our Jordan is a Paradise" program on the first days of the Eid, which will include a special focus on the city of Petra and other tourist areas.
Hijazin explained that the activation of the program will be on the first days of Eid al-Fitr, pointing out that Petra and other areas such as Madaba and Jerash were affected by the Iran war, according to the kingdom.
He expected the tourism sector to recover within a week from the end of the war.
He pointed out that the sector has been facing successive crises starting from the coronavirus, then the wars launched in the region, which still affect the tourism sector.
He added that the ministry had predicted the current crisis in advance, even though it was different, and there was follow-up by Prime Minister Jafar Hasan on the tourism sector before the war began.
He mentioned that an operations and emergency room started working from the first day of the war due to its prior prediction, and began monitoring the progress of the war and its impact on the sector in terms of the war's effect on bookings, airspace, aircraft movement, and tourists present in the kingdom.
He indicated that tourism in Jordan has been affected by regional circumstances, yet the tourism sector continues to work on reassuring the global tourism markets and affirming the kingdom's readiness to welcome visitors, emphasizing that the ministry is constantly working with partners in the sector to monitor regional developments and their impact on travel and tourism, and taking necessary actions to support the sector.
He referred to previous experiences in the tourism sector, which proved the importance of diversifying tourism markets and not relying solely on traditional markets, while continuing to maintain these markets and enhance Jordan's presence in them, stating that work is ongoing to boost land tourism from Gulf countries due to its importance and significant role in supporting the kingdom's tourism movement.
He discussed that the ministry is working on opening up to new markets to attract tourists from Asia and Africa.
He stated that the ministry is working on attracting tourists from Saudi Arabia through land routes after the closure of the airspace in the Arabian Gulf, explaining that about 65% of tourists coming from Saudi Arabia arrive by land.
He added that there is another market, which is North Africa, explaining that it is necessary to attract tourists from there with specific tourism offers.
Hijazin mentioned that as part of the measures to support the tourism sector, the board of the Tourism Promotion Authority decided to installment or postpone the fees due on tourism establishments contributing to the Tourism Promotion Authority until the last quarter of this year, in a step aimed at alleviating financial burdens on the sector.
He explained that the ministry is working in cooperation with partners in the sector to study and assess the extent of damage to the tourism sector, in preparation for setting clear priorities for support programs during the upcoming phase, and the ministry is coordinating with the relevant authorities regarding commitments related to social security and the banking sector, while considering the particular situation and financial status of each establishment.
He indicated that the ministry continues to implement the empowerment program in the tourism sector, which focuses on training and capacity building through three main tracks including training job seekers, qualifying workers in the tourism sector, and developing the skills of tourism service providers, aiming to enhance the efficiency of the workforce and increase employment opportunities, ensuring the sector's full readiness to welcome tourists during the recovery phase after the end of the current regional events.
On his part, the President of the Incoming Tourism Association, Nabih Riyal, said that the cancellation rate for the current period has reached 70-80%.
He confirmed that the tourism sector will be the last to recover after the end of the war, indicating that the sector is still suffering from successive crises since 2020.
He emphasized that the sector has maintained employment in tourism.
