ammonnews.net

BY Renad Ayyad Dhayyat

Tourism is considered to be a fundamental pillar in the economy as its impact is not to be ignored because it contributes hugely to GDP, but while there are concerns about the rise of violence, and conflict in the areas surrounding the country, Jordan is working to ensure that tourists and visitors to the country are kept safe. While facing challenges with modernization and growing urbanization and despite its troubled history, Jordan enjoys being an oasis within a conflictual region, it is safe, stable and easy to travel around, making vacationing in Jordan a great introduction to the Middle East and it remains one of the safest countries in which one can enjoys a typical Middle Eastern experience. Furthermore, immigration into Jordan has enriched its cultural diversity as it has significant Palestinian and Iraqi populations.

Jordan is considered to be an incubator for many civilizations throughout history, more than many other Middle Eastern countries. All of these influences are still visible in the ancient ruins, architecture, crafts, and arts of Jordan. It is worth mentioning that Petra, the ancient Nabataean city locked away at the center of Jordan's sandstone escarpment, is the crown jewel of the many ancient sites in Jordan, a place that must be visited!

The Jordanian authorities set the target to boost tourism in this compact nation to seven million people by 2020. The CBJ attributes this rise to the 265,000-to-387,000 jump in the number of tourists, according to Jordanian Petra news agency. CBJ figures showed tourism revenues increased from $148 to $220 million in February, an increase of 206% compared with February 2021, and tourists increased from 126,000 to 182,000.

Thankfully, Jordan's tourism revenues increased by 251 percent during Q1-2022, reaching $893 million, tourism ministry spokesperson Ahmad Rifai told the Xinhua News Agency. Meanwhile, about 780,000 people visited Jordan in the first quarter of 2022, an increase of 298 percent from the previous year, state-run TV station Al-Mamlaka reported, citing tourism minister Nayef Fayez. Revenues for the first two months of 2022 increased from $306.3m to $462.3m for the same period of 2021, according to data from the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ), which is impressive. Despite the negative impacts of the pandemic, Jordan recovered within a short period of time to regain its touristic strength to put everything back on track in terms of the touristic importance of what Jordan possess.