Ammon News -

Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Nayef Fayez, has announced the launch of a Tourism Risk Fund, worth JD20 million, to support the Kingdom's tourism sector and alleviate the Covid-19 pandemic-induced repercussions.

The minister indicated that the tourism industry is "one of the pandemic's hard-hit economic sectors."

Speaking during a joint press conference held at the Prime Ministry on Thursday, alongside a number of ministers, Fayez said the newly-announced fund, which is established under the umbrella of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and the Tourism Promotion Authority (TPA), seeks to address the pandemic-triggered current risks, the future challenges that the tourism businesses may face, and provide financial aid and loans to its workers.

Fayez added that work is underway to increase the fund's resources made by contributions of the tourism stakeholders and from future foreign grants, indicating that the body's spending aspects will be set through "clear" foundations that will be completed soon.

"There is great faith on the part of the government in the importance of the tourism sector, in addition to the consensus between the Ministry of Tourism, Antiquities and Social Security Corporation (SSC) that the sector will recover strongly and will be able to fulfill its obligations to the SSC," according to the minister.
Guaranteed by the Ministry of Tourism and the TPA, he said several support programs targeting the tourism sector are carried out by the SSC, stressing that the sector, which brings 4,500 establishments under its umbrella, is employing around 53,000 workers, and will benefit from the other SCC packages that have been launched.