Jordan tries to revive tourism amid regional uncertainty

The Tourism Ministry has launched a campaign to revitalise domestic tourism, targeting local and Arab travellers, a senior official said.

Minister of Tourism Taleb Rifai, who assumed his post last month, said his ministry was banking on a multi-faceted promotional drive in the form of lucrative family packages and daily guided tours of the country's main archaeological sites.

The ministry hopes that the strategy will help compensate for the loss in tourists from western and Asian countries. "We have embarked on a large-scale promotional campaign to institutionalise and revamp domestic tourism, to lure Jordanian and Arab tourists" who flock to the country in summer, Rifai told the Jordan Times.

The packages should include discounted hotel rates, transport fees and recreational services. He underlined the need to salvage huge investments funnelled into the tourist infrastructure over the past five years, with an overall capital of nearly $1 billion.

The dwindling number of western tourists, who usually arrive in groups and stay in five-star hotels, have affected occupancy rates. But while the number of western tourists dropped by one-third in the first half of this year, compared to the same span last year, the overall picture is not entirely gloomy.

Arab tourism has helped balance the account in the tourist equation. A tourist influx from the Gulf states saved the day. Saudi nationals who made up 35 per cent of arrivals, estimated at 1.4 million tourists in 2000, and were followed by arrivals from Kuwait and Bahrain.

Rifai said Jordan ranked first among neighbouring countries in attracting Arab tourists. The number of incoming tourists fell by 2.9 per cent in the first half of this year, but the drop was shored up by the Arab tourists who flee the summer heat of their countries.

Non-Arab tourist arrivals fell by 39 per cent, whereas Arab arrivals soared by 23 per cent. Feeling the pinch, many of the country's 400 travel agents have joined ranks with the ministry to promote daily tours of main archaeological sites, notably Petra and Um Qais, the Arab name for Gedara, one of the cities of the ancient Roman Decapolis.

"The priority was putting our house in order," said Rifai. "We have not been active enough in improving this potentially high-yield industry."

The Jordan Tourism Board, a private-public sector tourism promotion organisation, this year launched an intensive campaign in the Gulf states to promote 'Jordan as a family destination.'

"This drive has dramatically balanced the tourist sector," Rifai said. "The rising number of Arab tourists is very useful to the country, although they often do not directly support the tourism sector."

Arab tourists usually arrive in families or as individuals who do not require hotel services, tour guides or transport facilities. Rifai said he hoped that the tourism sector was facing a 'temporary phase'.

Investment in the sector should be based on a long-term strategy that takes into account regional uncertainty. He said efforts had been exerted to support new hotels by rescheduling outstanding loans to local banks and creditors and exploiting the presence of Arab tourists.

"Our challenge now is to bypass this phase and exploit the facilities for domestic and Arab packages," the minister said. He added that the country needed to do more to cater to the demands of Arab tourists who usually opt for parks, recreational centres, bungalows in natural and open areas.

According to Rifai, Jordan should consider diversifying the tourist meal so as to cater to all tastes.