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Ammon News -

 His Royal Highness Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II on Saturday attended part of the tourism sector’s interactive session, held as part of the third round of the National Economic Workshop at the Royal Hashemite Court.

Crown Prince Al Hussein heard from the participants on the tourism sector priorities they have identified for the next phase, as well as their vision for advancing the sector, which is the hardest hit by COVID.

His Royal Highness stressed the importance of capitalising on the points of strength in the tourism sector, especially the potential of cultural tourism, medical tourism, ecotourism, adventure tourism, entertainment tourism, and religious tourism.

The Crown Prince called for moving from theory into practice, to ensure the actual implementation of recommendations on the ground.

His Royal Highness also listened to a briefing on the topics discussed by participants in the tourism sector, including the challenges facing it and the quick measures that can be taken to achieve progress.

The participants also spoke about the need to return to pre-COVID growth levels in the sector, and the importance of including local communities in planning for the sector’s future.

They stressed the importance of promoting sustainable tourism, calling for expanding education related to the sector to train a skilled workforce to cater for the tourism sector’s labour needs in Jordan and the region.

The third round of the National Economic Workshop also included discussions on the enablers required for each sector, and the need to structure them within a comprehensive roadmap.

This week’s sessions focused on higher education within the education and labour market sector, textiles within the manufacturing and industry sector, and design within the creative industries sector.

The workshop, held under the theme "Advancing into the Future: Unleashing Potential to Modernise the Economy", is aimed at assessing the current situation of the economy, identifying opportunities to advance growth and competitiveness, and enhancing the quality of life and services for Jordanians.

The workshop, launched in late February upon Royal directives, continues over five weeks with the possibility to be extended further for additional rounds during the month of Ramadan if needed, especially for taskforces covering cross-cutting sectors and sub-sectors.

Additional sessions are also held throughout each week, with subject matter experts invited as guest speakers to contribute to the discussions.

The workshop brings together nearly 400 economists and experts, representing the private sector, industry and commerce chambers, the government, Parliament, academia, public institutions, civil society, and the media, with the number of participants increasing as more experts from each sector are added.

The sectors covered in the workshop are: agriculture and food security, energy, water, mining, ICT, financial services and markets, healthcare, trade and e-commerce, manufacturing and industry, tourism, education and the labour market, transport and logistics, urban development and climate change, and creative industries.