Jordan All Set for Local Tourism Boost
Jordanian travel enthusiasts have the potential to generate millions of dinars in revenues, if only they choose to spend their holidays in their own country.
Minister of Tourism Suzanne Afaneh said Jordanians expend millions abroad, and persuading even 10 percent of these travelers to spend their vacations in the Kingdom instead would be a success.
Based on the figures the minister provided, two million Jordanian holidaymakers travelled abroad in 2009, spending JD750 (more than US$1 billion), while only around JD61 million (almost US$87 million) were spent on local tourism.
In line with this, a new campaign named as “Jordan is Beautiful” was launched to encourage their Jordanians to spend their Eid vacation in the country.
The campaign includes low-cost domestic tourism packages for Jordanians for the forthcoming Eid Al Fitr holiday, a major festivity for the Islam community that is celebrated after the month of Ramadan.
Afaneh noted that all the packages offered will be for one-day trips.
“Our studies show that 78 per cent of Jordanians prefer the one-day tour, which helped us design tours to match their demands,” Afaneh explained, adding that destinations will include Jerash, Ajloun, the Dead Sea and Aqaba.
Afaneh also said that the 10-day campaign is part of a long-term strategy with the goal of seeing more Jordanians stay in the Kingdom for their holidays to boost local tourism. Also, as part of the strategy, the ministry held talks with investors to encourage them to invest in facilities that accommodate to the needs of the domestic tourist market.
Moreover, Afaneh stressed that Jordanians are not usually interested in staying and spending time in hotels. According to the research done for the said campaign, locals prefer tourist sites where recreational activities are available.
And since Jordanians have the same interests as other Arab nationals in general, she pointed out that building up facilities to gratify the vacation needs and wants of their countrymen will also attract more tourists from the Arab region to extend their stays in the Kingdom and spend more money.
“Arab tourists spend in Lebanon 10 times more than what they spend here, and we want to focus on their preferences as well,” the minister explained. She also added that average spending per Arab tourist in Jordan stands at JD474 (US$671), compared to JD569 (US$806) among non-Arab tourists.
Meanwhile, for locals who fancy overnight tourism, Afaneh said the continuing plans will concentrate on encouraging tour operators to purchase hotel rooms in bulk in order to offer better packages for Jordanians.
“Jordanians usually book rooms directly from the hotel, and have no idea that they can get them at a lower price through a travel agent. Our focus will be on convincing tour operators to purchase more rooms in bulk to create awareness among the public that they can arrange this service for a lower price through the operators,” the minister revealed.
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