Ammon News -

Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Nayef Fayez, said Jordan is fully prepared to receive tourists from abroad, especially since the Kingdom was able to control the epidemiological situation and maintain low rates in the number of recorded cases of Covid-19.

Speaking to an Arab news channels on Monday, Fayez said the few number of infections that the Kingdom records daily allows different sectors to be reopened gradually and deliberately, including the tourism sector.

He added that the government has begun to take several measures to gradually ease restrictions on movement, stressing that these measures will play an important role in attracting tourists from abroad, as he expected the return of foreign tourism in the fall, the season for tourists from several countries.

With regard to travel instructions for those coming to the Kingdom, the minister said that travelers who received the vaccine (complete doses and according to the type of vaccine) and who have a vaccination certificate or proof of that issued by the following destinations (Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Tunisia, Morocco, United States of America, United Kingdom, European Union countries, Turkey, China, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Russian Federation, and Canada) were allowed to come to the Kingdom, provided that they conduct a PCR test with a negative result from the point of arrival within 72 hours prior to their boarding the plane from the first departure station.

He said that the past year was a difficult one for the tourism sector, and many tourist facilities and destinations throughout the Kingdom were affected due to the Coronavirus pandemic, pointing out that the focus was shifted towards domestic tourism in order to ease pressure on the tourism sector.

The minister indicated that the Kingdom relies mainly on the tourism sector, which constitutes approximately 13 percent of the gross domestic product, noting that Jordan's tourism sector income has declined, as it generated JD1 billion in revenues last year, compared to JD4.1 billion in 2019.