Royal Wings,the subsidiary of Royal Jordanian – is to launch direct flights between King Hussein International Airport in Aqaba on the Jordanian coast and Al Maktoum International Airport at Dubai South.
Royal Wings is transferring its operations from Amman to Aqaba to boost air transportation and tourism in the port city.
This new Dubai service will be run twice weekly – Sundays and Thursdays – at a first stage, with competitive ticket fares to facilitate the movement of passengers between Aqaba, an important tourist and economic destination on the shores of the Red Sea, and Dubai, a vital and pivotal business centre.
With this new flight, investors and tourists will be able to visit Aqaba, Petra and Wadi Rum, enjoy Jordanian tourist sites and its moderate weather.
Royal Wings Managing Director Osama Quntar said: Royal Wings operates this route in cooperation with the Jordan Tourism Board, which continuously seeks to promote Jordan to the world, especially in the Arab Gulf countries, whose citizens consider Jordan an attractive destination for family tourism in terms of entertainment, culture, health and medical and eco tourism.
This new service to Dubai comes after it launched direct regular flights to Beirut and Cairo.
The company also aims to operate to new markets like London, Milan, Moscow, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Oslo, Stockholm and others, according to its 2017- 2018 operational plan.
The flights depart at 8:35 from Aqaba and arrives at Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai at 12:25; it takes off from Dubai at 13:10 and arrives in Aqaba at 15:15.
Tourism, Travel, Hospitality, Conservation: News,Stories And Experiences From Allover The World
Showing posts with label Petra. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Petra. Show all posts
Wednesday, 28 June 2017
Sunday, 25 June 2017
JORDAN: Discover The Destination For Spiritual Enrichment
Jordan is an ideal destination for those seeking cultural knowledge and spiritual enrichment. Visitors can walk through the valleys, hills and plains that become part of human history by virtue of the simple deeds and profound messages of prophets who walked the land and crossed its rivers during their lives. Read on to discover some of the most renowned religious sites across Jordan.
Bethany Beyond the Jordan
The site of John the Baptist's settlement at Bethany Beyond the Jordan, where Jesus was baptized, has long been known from the Bible (John 1:28 and 10:40) and from the Byzantine and medieval texts.
Mount Nebo
Mount Nebo became a place of pilgrimage for early Christians from Jerusalem and a small church was built there in the 4th century to commemorate the end of Moses' life. Some of the stones from that church remain in their original place in the wall around the apse area.
Anjara
It is believed that Jesus Christ, his disciples, and the Virgin Mary, passed through Anjara once and rested in a cave there during a journey between the Sea of Galilee, the Decapolis cities, Bethany Beyond the Jordan and Jerusalem.
Mukawir
The 1st century AD Roman-Jewish historian, Josephus, identifies the awe-inspiring site of Mukawir (Machaerus) as the palace/fort of Herod, who was the Roman-appointed ruler over the region during the life of Jesus Christ.
Madaba
Madaba and its hinterlands were repeatedly mentioned in the Old Testament. Then it was known as Medeba and it featured in narratives related to Moses and the Exodus, David’s war against the Moabites, Isaiah’s oracle against Moab and King Mesha of Moab’s rebellion against Israel.
Dead Sea & Lot’s Cave
The Dead Sea is one of the most dramatic places on earth, with its stunning natural environment equally matched by its powerful spiritual symbolism. The infamous Sodom and Gomorrah and other cities of the Dead Sea plain, or (Cities of the Valley) were the subjects of some of the most dramatic and enduring Old Testament stories, including that of Lot, whose wife was turned into a pillar of salt for disobeying God’s will.
Umm Ar-Rasas (UNESCO World Heritage Site)
This rectangular walled city, about 30km southeast of Madaba is mentioned on both, the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. It was fortified by the Romans and local Christians were still embellishing it with Byzantine-style mosaics well over 100 years after the start of the Muslim Umayyad rule.
Petra
Petra seems to be mentioned in the Bible’s Old Testament under several possible names, including Sela and Joktheel (2 Kings 14:7).
During the Exodus, Moses and the Israelites passed through the Petra area in Edom. Local tradition says that the spring at Wadi Musa (Valley of Moses), just outside Petra, is the place where Moses struck the rock and brought forth water (Numbers 20:10-11).
Bethany Beyond the Jordan
The site of John the Baptist's settlement at Bethany Beyond the Jordan, where Jesus was baptized, has long been known from the Bible (John 1:28 and 10:40) and from the Byzantine and medieval texts.
Mount Nebo
Mount Nebo became a place of pilgrimage for early Christians from Jerusalem and a small church was built there in the 4th century to commemorate the end of Moses' life. Some of the stones from that church remain in their original place in the wall around the apse area.
Anjara
It is believed that Jesus Christ, his disciples, and the Virgin Mary, passed through Anjara once and rested in a cave there during a journey between the Sea of Galilee, the Decapolis cities, Bethany Beyond the Jordan and Jerusalem.
Mukawir
The 1st century AD Roman-Jewish historian, Josephus, identifies the awe-inspiring site of Mukawir (Machaerus) as the palace/fort of Herod, who was the Roman-appointed ruler over the region during the life of Jesus Christ.
Madaba
Madaba and its hinterlands were repeatedly mentioned in the Old Testament. Then it was known as Medeba and it featured in narratives related to Moses and the Exodus, David’s war against the Moabites, Isaiah’s oracle against Moab and King Mesha of Moab’s rebellion against Israel.
Dead Sea & Lot’s Cave
The Dead Sea is one of the most dramatic places on earth, with its stunning natural environment equally matched by its powerful spiritual symbolism. The infamous Sodom and Gomorrah and other cities of the Dead Sea plain, or (Cities of the Valley) were the subjects of some of the most dramatic and enduring Old Testament stories, including that of Lot, whose wife was turned into a pillar of salt for disobeying God’s will.
Umm Ar-Rasas (UNESCO World Heritage Site)
This rectangular walled city, about 30km southeast of Madaba is mentioned on both, the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. It was fortified by the Romans and local Christians were still embellishing it with Byzantine-style mosaics well over 100 years after the start of the Muslim Umayyad rule.
Petra
Petra seems to be mentioned in the Bible’s Old Testament under several possible names, including Sela and Joktheel (2 Kings 14:7).
During the Exodus, Moses and the Israelites passed through the Petra area in Edom. Local tradition says that the spring at Wadi Musa (Valley of Moses), just outside Petra, is the place where Moses struck the rock and brought forth water (Numbers 20:10-11).
Wednesday, 14 June 2017
JORDAN: Balancing Between Syria War And Promoting Jordanian Tourism
Natural wonders it has in abundance, but natural resources are lacking. And now one of Jordan's main money-earners - tourism - is being killed off by regional conflicts.
A haven of peace surrounded by war, Jordan is turning to contingency measures to try to revive its tourism industry which is suffering because of the raging violence in its neighbours Iraq and Syria.
Tourism in 2014 contributed 14 percent of the kingdom's gross domestic product, to the tune of $4.4bn, the second highest earner after remittances from expatriates.
But the flow of tourism revenue is becoming a trickle.
"For three days I haven't had a tourist come in here," said 30-year-old Mohammed of his souvenir shop in central Amman.
"Things are slowing down, and each year seems to be worse than the last."
The Hashemite kingdom has no shortage of acclaimed wonders, both natural and man-made.
Its rose-pink rock-hewn city of Petra is one of the seven wonders of the world, and the Roman ruins at Jerash in the north of the country near the border with Syria are among the region's most impressive.
The desert at Wadi Rum and the Dead Sea have always figured high on the list of the country's natural attractions.
Until recent years, such sites attracted hundreds of thousands of Western tourists on the trail of the first great civilisations.
But now they are devoid of visitors, frightened off by regional unrest in the wake of the 2011 Arab Spring that swept across the Middle East and North Africa.
In those four years, the number of people who visit Petra every year has nearly halved, from just under a million in 2010 to around 600,000 last year. Ten hotels there have had to shut their doors.
And revenue from tourism was down 15 percent during the first four months of 2015 on last year, falling to $1.5bn.
Tourism Minister Nayef al-Fayez attributed the fall to the absence among visitors of visibility on the situation in Jordan.
The head of the country's tourism office, Abderrazak Arabyat, has now come up with an emergency plan aimed at raising Jordan's international profile and getting out of this situation.
There's no magic wand we can wave to fix things in a few weeks.
But we have put in place an ambitious plan targeting in particular the countries of the Gulf such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
New markets including Turkey and the Far East will also be approached, among them China, Japan and South Korea, with the hope of seeing positive results from next year.
There is also a rethink on diversifying the actual product and boosting services such as medical tourism.
According to Fawzi Hamouri, who heads the country's association of private clinics, Jordan has become the prime medical destination in the Middle East and North Africa, with 250,000 foreign patients treated in 2014.
Some Jordanians in the industry believe the authorities are not doing enough, however.
Travel agent Salama Khattar deplores what he called the absence of a clear and ambitious programme of work to relaunch tourism.
We have made no profits since 2011. We are paying the overheads out of our own pockets, he said.
In the past four years, Khattar's agency which brings tourist groups from Belgium, France, Norway and Sweden has seen its business cut in half.
Amman emphasises safety to try to reassure foreign visitors, but Jordanian involvement in the air campaign against the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq does not mean it is sheltered from extremism.
It shouldn't be us who pays the price, the tourism minister said, since Jordan is not part of the problem in the region.
Julien, a young French tourist visiting the towering Roman theatre dominating the centre of Amman, said he had no regrets about coming.
A great stay, and no sense of feeling insecure despite a few initial reservations linked to the current trouble, he said.
Western governments regularly warn their citizens that Jordan is not immune from the violence that afflicts the region.
The threat of terrorism remains high in Jordan, says the US State Department's current travel advisory.
The last attack in the country was in 2005, when suicide bombers blew themselves up in three of the capital's hotels, killing 60 people.
A haven of peace surrounded by war, Jordan is turning to contingency measures to try to revive its tourism industry which is suffering because of the raging violence in its neighbours Iraq and Syria.
Tourism in 2014 contributed 14 percent of the kingdom's gross domestic product, to the tune of $4.4bn, the second highest earner after remittances from expatriates.
But the flow of tourism revenue is becoming a trickle.
"For three days I haven't had a tourist come in here," said 30-year-old Mohammed of his souvenir shop in central Amman.
"Things are slowing down, and each year seems to be worse than the last."
The Hashemite kingdom has no shortage of acclaimed wonders, both natural and man-made.
Its rose-pink rock-hewn city of Petra is one of the seven wonders of the world, and the Roman ruins at Jerash in the north of the country near the border with Syria are among the region's most impressive.
The desert at Wadi Rum and the Dead Sea have always figured high on the list of the country's natural attractions.
Until recent years, such sites attracted hundreds of thousands of Western tourists on the trail of the first great civilisations.
But now they are devoid of visitors, frightened off by regional unrest in the wake of the 2011 Arab Spring that swept across the Middle East and North Africa.
In those four years, the number of people who visit Petra every year has nearly halved, from just under a million in 2010 to around 600,000 last year. Ten hotels there have had to shut their doors.
And revenue from tourism was down 15 percent during the first four months of 2015 on last year, falling to $1.5bn.
Tourism Minister Nayef al-Fayez attributed the fall to the absence among visitors of visibility on the situation in Jordan.
The head of the country's tourism office, Abderrazak Arabyat, has now come up with an emergency plan aimed at raising Jordan's international profile and getting out of this situation.
There's no magic wand we can wave to fix things in a few weeks.
But we have put in place an ambitious plan targeting in particular the countries of the Gulf such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
New markets including Turkey and the Far East will also be approached, among them China, Japan and South Korea, with the hope of seeing positive results from next year.
There is also a rethink on diversifying the actual product and boosting services such as medical tourism.
According to Fawzi Hamouri, who heads the country's association of private clinics, Jordan has become the prime medical destination in the Middle East and North Africa, with 250,000 foreign patients treated in 2014.
Some Jordanians in the industry believe the authorities are not doing enough, however.
Travel agent Salama Khattar deplores what he called the absence of a clear and ambitious programme of work to relaunch tourism.
We have made no profits since 2011. We are paying the overheads out of our own pockets, he said.
In the past four years, Khattar's agency which brings tourist groups from Belgium, France, Norway and Sweden has seen its business cut in half.
Amman emphasises safety to try to reassure foreign visitors, but Jordanian involvement in the air campaign against the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq does not mean it is sheltered from extremism.
It shouldn't be us who pays the price, the tourism minister said, since Jordan is not part of the problem in the region.
Julien, a young French tourist visiting the towering Roman theatre dominating the centre of Amman, said he had no regrets about coming.
A great stay, and no sense of feeling insecure despite a few initial reservations linked to the current trouble, he said.
Western governments regularly warn their citizens that Jordan is not immune from the violence that afflicts the region.
The threat of terrorism remains high in Jordan, says the US State Department's current travel advisory.
The last attack in the country was in 2005, when suicide bombers blew themselves up in three of the capital's hotels, killing 60 people.
JORDAN: Bedouins Returning To Petra’s Caves
Walking through the imposing al-Siq gorge towards the famed treasury felt eerily quiet.
Expecting to squeeze through a selfie-stick-branding rabble, what began as a pleasant surprise turned into a gnawing uneasiness, in an undisturbed amble through Jordan’s famed rose-tinted rock city of Petra. It is usual for numbers to be stinted in January’s low season, but not to this extent.
Not as many tourists come here anymore, said a 16-year old Bedouin girl selling camel-tooth necklaces for a couple dinars a piece, her voice echoing across the cavernous hollows. It is too quiet, and makes life very hard for us living here. She glumly rearranged her hoard of unsold trinkets spread on a red and white kuffiyeh.
The ancient Nabatean lost city, famously described as being "half as old as time" and carved from mesmeric red sandstone, promotes itself as the archaeological jewel of Jordan and the most visited and iconic tourist attraction in the country.
But business has suffered for the stall holders of Petra and local Bedouin communities, as instability in the region and Islamic State-fuelled fear has led to a rocky tourism sector for Jordan which borders Syria and Iraq.
My parents were so worried, whilst I told them it was fine I would never have come here unless on an organised tour, said 23-year-old Shoshana, an American tourist who was visiting Jordan on a two-day schedule with a Jerusalem-based tour agency, but admitted that she was nervous about visiting the Middle Eastern country.
In 2014, tourism generated 14 percent of the Kingdom’s gross domestic product, the equivalent of $4.4bn, and was the second highest earner after remittances from expatriates.
However, tourist numbers halved from 2010 to 2014, and have fallen since then. Tourist numbers to Petra dropped by 32 percent in the first eight months of 2015.
Nuwar Johed, a tour guide who specialised in Petra for 22 years, has witnessed the change the past few years have brought to the site, and the subsequent impact on those who depend on the tourist economy.
Since 2011 and the beginning of the Syrian war there has been a huge drop in tourism in Petra and Jordan generally, she explained. This is a regional issue, and I think the rise of ISIS in Syria is making a lot of people scared about coming here.
Jordan’s involvement in the anti-IS coalition gained traction when it increased air strikes against Syrian targets, after militants burned a Jordanian fighter pilot to death in a cage last year.
Tourism typically brings three billion Jordanian dinars [$4.234bn] into Jordan every year, so this is affecting all of us on a national level, but in terms of the local effect on communities it is having a devastating impact on the Bdoule - local Bedouin,Johed said.
The Bdoule around Petra hail from the Huwaitat tribe, who claim to directly descend from the Nabateans and therefore supposedly inherited the ancient city from their ancestors.
However, since UNESCO awarded Petra with world heritage status in 1985, the Jordanian government forced the Bdoule out of the caves and archaeological site to protect it from the effects of encroachment. The government herded the Bdoule into sedentary purpose-built dwellings that formed a "Bedouin village," known as Umm Sayhoun, where most still live today.
Johed confirmed that while most of the Bedouin left, albeit somewhat reluctantly, some refused eviction and approximately 150 remain living in caves.
Tofik Abdullah, 28, a local Bedouin who was trying, unsuccessfully, to hawk camel rides to a pitiful smattering of tourists near the Byzantine church, described how his family moved here hundreds of years ago.
My family has been in the caves of this area for more than 450 years. They came as nomads with goats, camels and sheep and they followed the land. Their camels found water springs here, and they found grass and then the caves, it is peaceful and so they decided to stay, he said, sitting astride a camel as he gestured to the rocky terrain enveloping the archaeological ruins.
We like our historic nomadic life, it is freedom you know? At least it was before the tourism now the government moved us into a ‘Bedouin village’. But some people, like me, remain in the caves and refuse to move.
While few resisted the government’s pressure to relocate, more of the Bdoule have begun returning into their historic rock dwellings, partially due to the dramatic drop in tourism but also because of a lack of space for development.
More people are moving back because in the village we don’t have any more land to build on. We’ve tried talking with the government to ask for more land, but they say it isn’t allowed. I think there are more than 700 families who don’t have houses and are living in cramped conditions with their parents, explained Abdullah.
While an economic downturn and lack of land implies the existence of pressure behind the decision to return to the caves, Abdullah explained that it was actually a preferable lifestyle option for him.
I went and lived in Germany for eight months, to try live in the city and the West, but I came back.
For me, it is a better life than the city, less people, less cars, more natural and free. In the summer, it is cool and in the winter it is warm, the cave is the mirror opposite of the seasons.
It does feel more natural and quieter, agreed Arbaya, 26, who has also decided to live in a cave rather than the cramped government-sponsored housing.
I was born in a cave; I’ve lived in one all my life. My family have now moved to the village, but I have remained because I prefer it, it is a lot more fun and interesting. You do everything with fire. I have to carry water up to the cave with a donkey, 50 gallons at a time. And food too we have to carry everything, and I have to wash my clothes with my hands.
Arbaya explained why young Bdoule men in particular have begun to move back into the caves.
Men in particular are beginning to take their families back to live in caves. If I want to have children one day and live with my family then I need space. How are your children, and wife, and family supposed to live all together in two rooms?
When asked about his marital status, Arbaya flashed a mischievous grin. No wife, still single – no girls want to live in the cave! he cackled, and then added a little sheepishly: To be honest I haven’t been trying that hard, one day maybe it will happen.
But alongside wanting to start a family, younger people are more interested in coming back to the caves and to get back to their natural way of life and roots, he added.
Johed, the tour guide, identified with the young Bedouins’ impulse to rediscover their heritage. Over the past two decades I have witnessed a change in Bedouin lifestyles; it has shifted to a more consumer focus, become more material, and moved away from the simpler old traditional ways, she explained.
Before tourism exploded in the area the Bdoule had a more diverse economy and specialised in other industries, especially agriculture. But their culture has been changing, and now they are reliant on an influx of tourists.
Thus, from Johed's perspective, a silver lining to the tourist downturn in Petra is that it seems to be prompting many of the Bedouin to return to their traditional and more economically diverse lifestyles.
Since tourists came here the Bedouin started making money from them and left their old kind of life, but nowadays they are coming back to it, which is really great, returning to the old ways and keeping the culture alive, said Arbaya with a youthful excitement.
Ninety percent of the Bedouins around this area make money from tourism, but nowadays that is breaking down. So many are now changing again, back to breeding racing animals like the old ways. Racing goats, sheep, horses – to sell at the market.
My grandparents moved in 1997 from the cave but they used to make yoghurt and cheese and butters. And now people are going back to doing these things. Still, at its heart, the culture of the Bedouin is the same.
There is a little bit of change, he acknowledged, as an afterthought. Before if there was a problem someone used to fire three shots with a gun in the air and people would come running, whereas now you use your cell phone! he laughed heartily. So, maybe, some change is good.
Expecting to squeeze through a selfie-stick-branding rabble, what began as a pleasant surprise turned into a gnawing uneasiness, in an undisturbed amble through Jordan’s famed rose-tinted rock city of Petra. It is usual for numbers to be stinted in January’s low season, but not to this extent.
Not as many tourists come here anymore, said a 16-year old Bedouin girl selling camel-tooth necklaces for a couple dinars a piece, her voice echoing across the cavernous hollows. It is too quiet, and makes life very hard for us living here. She glumly rearranged her hoard of unsold trinkets spread on a red and white kuffiyeh.
The ancient Nabatean lost city, famously described as being "half as old as time" and carved from mesmeric red sandstone, promotes itself as the archaeological jewel of Jordan and the most visited and iconic tourist attraction in the country.
But business has suffered for the stall holders of Petra and local Bedouin communities, as instability in the region and Islamic State-fuelled fear has led to a rocky tourism sector for Jordan which borders Syria and Iraq.
My parents were so worried, whilst I told them it was fine I would never have come here unless on an organised tour, said 23-year-old Shoshana, an American tourist who was visiting Jordan on a two-day schedule with a Jerusalem-based tour agency, but admitted that she was nervous about visiting the Middle Eastern country.
In 2014, tourism generated 14 percent of the Kingdom’s gross domestic product, the equivalent of $4.4bn, and was the second highest earner after remittances from expatriates.
However, tourist numbers halved from 2010 to 2014, and have fallen since then. Tourist numbers to Petra dropped by 32 percent in the first eight months of 2015.
Nuwar Johed, a tour guide who specialised in Petra for 22 years, has witnessed the change the past few years have brought to the site, and the subsequent impact on those who depend on the tourist economy.
Since 2011 and the beginning of the Syrian war there has been a huge drop in tourism in Petra and Jordan generally, she explained. This is a regional issue, and I think the rise of ISIS in Syria is making a lot of people scared about coming here.
Jordan’s involvement in the anti-IS coalition gained traction when it increased air strikes against Syrian targets, after militants burned a Jordanian fighter pilot to death in a cage last year.
Tourism typically brings three billion Jordanian dinars [$4.234bn] into Jordan every year, so this is affecting all of us on a national level, but in terms of the local effect on communities it is having a devastating impact on the Bdoule - local Bedouin,Johed said.
The Bdoule around Petra hail from the Huwaitat tribe, who claim to directly descend from the Nabateans and therefore supposedly inherited the ancient city from their ancestors.
However, since UNESCO awarded Petra with world heritage status in 1985, the Jordanian government forced the Bdoule out of the caves and archaeological site to protect it from the effects of encroachment. The government herded the Bdoule into sedentary purpose-built dwellings that formed a "Bedouin village," known as Umm Sayhoun, where most still live today.
Johed confirmed that while most of the Bedouin left, albeit somewhat reluctantly, some refused eviction and approximately 150 remain living in caves.
Tofik Abdullah, 28, a local Bedouin who was trying, unsuccessfully, to hawk camel rides to a pitiful smattering of tourists near the Byzantine church, described how his family moved here hundreds of years ago.
My family has been in the caves of this area for more than 450 years. They came as nomads with goats, camels and sheep and they followed the land. Their camels found water springs here, and they found grass and then the caves, it is peaceful and so they decided to stay, he said, sitting astride a camel as he gestured to the rocky terrain enveloping the archaeological ruins.
We like our historic nomadic life, it is freedom you know? At least it was before the tourism now the government moved us into a ‘Bedouin village’. But some people, like me, remain in the caves and refuse to move.
While few resisted the government’s pressure to relocate, more of the Bdoule have begun returning into their historic rock dwellings, partially due to the dramatic drop in tourism but also because of a lack of space for development.
More people are moving back because in the village we don’t have any more land to build on. We’ve tried talking with the government to ask for more land, but they say it isn’t allowed. I think there are more than 700 families who don’t have houses and are living in cramped conditions with their parents, explained Abdullah.
While an economic downturn and lack of land implies the existence of pressure behind the decision to return to the caves, Abdullah explained that it was actually a preferable lifestyle option for him.
I went and lived in Germany for eight months, to try live in the city and the West, but I came back.
For me, it is a better life than the city, less people, less cars, more natural and free. In the summer, it is cool and in the winter it is warm, the cave is the mirror opposite of the seasons.
It does feel more natural and quieter, agreed Arbaya, 26, who has also decided to live in a cave rather than the cramped government-sponsored housing.
I was born in a cave; I’ve lived in one all my life. My family have now moved to the village, but I have remained because I prefer it, it is a lot more fun and interesting. You do everything with fire. I have to carry water up to the cave with a donkey, 50 gallons at a time. And food too we have to carry everything, and I have to wash my clothes with my hands.
Arbaya explained why young Bdoule men in particular have begun to move back into the caves.
Men in particular are beginning to take their families back to live in caves. If I want to have children one day and live with my family then I need space. How are your children, and wife, and family supposed to live all together in two rooms?
When asked about his marital status, Arbaya flashed a mischievous grin. No wife, still single – no girls want to live in the cave! he cackled, and then added a little sheepishly: To be honest I haven’t been trying that hard, one day maybe it will happen.
But alongside wanting to start a family, younger people are more interested in coming back to the caves and to get back to their natural way of life and roots, he added.
Johed, the tour guide, identified with the young Bedouins’ impulse to rediscover their heritage. Over the past two decades I have witnessed a change in Bedouin lifestyles; it has shifted to a more consumer focus, become more material, and moved away from the simpler old traditional ways, she explained.
Before tourism exploded in the area the Bdoule had a more diverse economy and specialised in other industries, especially agriculture. But their culture has been changing, and now they are reliant on an influx of tourists.
Thus, from Johed's perspective, a silver lining to the tourist downturn in Petra is that it seems to be prompting many of the Bedouin to return to their traditional and more economically diverse lifestyles.
Since tourists came here the Bedouin started making money from them and left their old kind of life, but nowadays they are coming back to it, which is really great, returning to the old ways and keeping the culture alive, said Arbaya with a youthful excitement.
Ninety percent of the Bedouins around this area make money from tourism, but nowadays that is breaking down. So many are now changing again, back to breeding racing animals like the old ways. Racing goats, sheep, horses – to sell at the market.
My grandparents moved in 1997 from the cave but they used to make yoghurt and cheese and butters. And now people are going back to doing these things. Still, at its heart, the culture of the Bedouin is the same.
There is a little bit of change, he acknowledged, as an afterthought. Before if there was a problem someone used to fire three shots with a gun in the air and people would come running, whereas now you use your cell phone! he laughed heartily. So, maybe, some change is good.
Monday, 22 May 2017
JORDAN: Jordan Reviews Tourism Sector,Revenues Remain Static
Tourism officials in Jordan have been reviewing developments in the country's tourism sector as revenues from 2016 are on par with takings from 2015 despite a reported rise in the number of visitors to the Western Asian kingdom.
Jordan is home to an incredible 100,000+ sites of religious and archaeological sites and spectacular landmarks that draw tourists from all around the world, namely the historical cities of Petra and Jerash, and biblical sites including Al-Maghtas and Mount Nebo.
These sites are significant to both Islamic and Christian faiths, but Jordan also sees visitors coming for the purposes of medical tourism, where people come to receive medical attention that cannot be found in other places in the region.
Reports registered a 2.6 rise in overnight visitors in 2016, up from around 3.14 million in 2015 to 3.86 million in 2016. However, revenues from these 2016 visitors remained the same as in 2015, at approximately JD2.87 million.
Tourism is a cornerstone of the Jordanian economy, so it should come as no surprise that these statistics are being examined closely to see why and how the gaps are occurring, and analysis points to a number of factors.
The main reason that intake from the tourism sector is down is due to a shift in where the majority of tourists are coming from, and how their spending habits differ.
Traditionally, regional tourism made up the bulk of visitors to Jordan, mainly from Saudi Arabia, whose population has a bigger spending power than visitors from Europe, the United States and Asia.
But the number of Saudis coming to Jordan has dropped due to internal economic measures being taken in Saudi Arabia to cut down on expenses, which has had a knock-on effect on people's decisions to travel.
The effects of regional instability because of the Arab Spring and the ongoing war in Syria have also had an effect, with people perhaps choosing not to travel to a region that is deemed to be in the midst of an armed crisis.
The ministry for tourism is going to focus its efforts this year on cultivating religious and medical tourism in an effort to boost these sides of the economy.
Let's take a look at some projects currently underway in Jordan:
QASR AL-AQABA: Saraya Aqaba features a unique mix of residential, business and entertainment facilities and outlets, including the following four new hotels: Qasr Al-Aqaba, Al Qala'a, Al Manara a Luxury Collection Hotel and The Westin Aqaba.
Al Manara, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Saraya Aqaba: Saraya Aqaba features a unique mix of residential, business and entertainment facilities and outlets, including the following four new hotels:
Qasr Al-Aqaba (Jumeirah)
Al Qala'a (Jumeirah)
Marsa Zayed Aqaba: The project would include 8 hotels in a mixed-use waterfront project. This project will furthermore include high-rise residential towers, retail, recreational, entertainment, business and financial facilities.
The project will be implemented in several phases once the transfer of land ownership is complete.
Jordan is home to an incredible 100,000+ sites of religious and archaeological sites and spectacular landmarks that draw tourists from all around the world, namely the historical cities of Petra and Jerash, and biblical sites including Al-Maghtas and Mount Nebo.
These sites are significant to both Islamic and Christian faiths, but Jordan also sees visitors coming for the purposes of medical tourism, where people come to receive medical attention that cannot be found in other places in the region.
Reports registered a 2.6 rise in overnight visitors in 2016, up from around 3.14 million in 2015 to 3.86 million in 2016. However, revenues from these 2016 visitors remained the same as in 2015, at approximately JD2.87 million.
Tourism is a cornerstone of the Jordanian economy, so it should come as no surprise that these statistics are being examined closely to see why and how the gaps are occurring, and analysis points to a number of factors.
The main reason that intake from the tourism sector is down is due to a shift in where the majority of tourists are coming from, and how their spending habits differ.
Traditionally, regional tourism made up the bulk of visitors to Jordan, mainly from Saudi Arabia, whose population has a bigger spending power than visitors from Europe, the United States and Asia.
But the number of Saudis coming to Jordan has dropped due to internal economic measures being taken in Saudi Arabia to cut down on expenses, which has had a knock-on effect on people's decisions to travel.
The effects of regional instability because of the Arab Spring and the ongoing war in Syria have also had an effect, with people perhaps choosing not to travel to a region that is deemed to be in the midst of an armed crisis.
The ministry for tourism is going to focus its efforts this year on cultivating religious and medical tourism in an effort to boost these sides of the economy.
Let's take a look at some projects currently underway in Jordan:
QASR AL-AQABA: Saraya Aqaba features a unique mix of residential, business and entertainment facilities and outlets, including the following four new hotels: Qasr Al-Aqaba, Al Qala'a, Al Manara a Luxury Collection Hotel and The Westin Aqaba.
Al Manara, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Saraya Aqaba: Saraya Aqaba features a unique mix of residential, business and entertainment facilities and outlets, including the following four new hotels:
Qasr Al-Aqaba (Jumeirah)
Al Qala'a (Jumeirah)
Marsa Zayed Aqaba: The project would include 8 hotels in a mixed-use waterfront project. This project will furthermore include high-rise residential towers, retail, recreational, entertainment, business and financial facilities.
The project will be implemented in several phases once the transfer of land ownership is complete.
Friday, 19 May 2017
JORDAN: 400 Russian Tourists Land In Aqaba
A Pegas Touristic charter flight from Russia carrying 400 tourists landed in Aqaba, Jordan today.
Aqaba is a seaside resort in Southern Jordan and after Amman a second international gateway into the country. Sandwiched in between trouble-spots in the world, Jordan Tourism is working hard to make the tourism world understand the country is safe, beautiful and ready to receive tourists.
A recently concluded UNWTO conference in Petra, Jordan brought attention to the situation in Jordan.
The latest charter flight is supported by the Jordan Tourism Board and operates in cooperation with TravCo Jordan.
It’s an example of the tangible achievements brought on by the Jordan Tourism Board’s efforts to attract international scheduled charters and low cost carriers to Aqaba.
This step will encourage more routes to be established to the city of Aqaba which will then act as a launching pad for more international tourist sites in the Kingdom.
Dr. Abed Al-Razzaq Arabiyat, managing director of the Jordan Tourism Board, said: The success we’re witnessing is a direct result of cooperative and mutual efforts from the Ministry of Tourism, Aqaba Authority and related tour operators in order to promote tourism in the Kingdom.
Arabiyat added: The number of Russian tourists has noticeably increased due to JTB’s marketing campaigns in Russia and has reached over 40 thousand tourists so far this year.
Paolo Nocerino, general manager of TravCo Jordan, a company specialized in organizing tours for Russian tourists to the Kingdom, said: We’re putting in real and palpable effort to support the revitalization of the tourism sector in Jordan through enhanced programs and through working closely with others in the travel industry in Jordan and around the world.Nocerino added
A Pegas Touristic charter flight from Russia carrying 400 tourists landed in Aqaba, Jordan today.
Aqaba is a seaside resort in Southern Jordan and after Amman a second international gateway into the country.
Sandwiched in between trouble-spots in the world, Jordan Tourism is working hard to make the tourism world understand the country is safe, beautiful and ready to receive tourists.
A recently concluded UNWTO conference in Petra, Jordan brought attention to the situation in Jordan.
The latest charter flight is supported by the Jordan Tourism Board and operates in cooperation with TravCo Jordan.
It’s an example of the tangible achievements brought on by the Jordan Tourism Board’s efforts to attract international scheduled charters and low cost carriers to Aqaba.
This step will encourage more routes to be established to the city of Aqaba which will then act as a launching pad for more international tourist sites in the Kingdom.
Dr. Abed Al-Razzaq Arabiyat, managing director of the Jordan Tourism Board, said: The success we’re witnessing is a direct result of cooperative and mutual efforts from the Ministry of Tourism, Aqaba Authority and related tour operators in order to promote tourism in the Kingdom.
Arabiyat added: The number of Russian tourists has noticeably increased due to JTB’s marketing campaigns in Russia and has reached over 40 thousand tourists so far this year.
Paolo Nocerino, general manager of TravCo Jordan, a company specialized in organizing tours for Russian tourists to the Kingdom, said: We’re putting in real and palpable effort to support the revitalization of the tourism sector in Jordan through enhanced programs and through working closely with others in the travel industry in Jordan and around the world.
Nocerino added: These positive results contribute to reinvigorating the tourism industry in Jordan through the support of TravCo PLC and their local team who are dedicated to making sure that tourists are enjoying their experiences in the Kingdom and encouraging their friends and family to do the same.
It is worth noting that the Jordan Tourism Board launched intensified campaigns in Russia starting late 2015 that extended to early 2016 in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan and Krasnodar which lead to the launch of charter flights to Aqaba.
JTB also has a strategy in place to attract charters and low cost carriers from around the world to take advantage of incentives at KHIA.
Recently a charter from Kiev also started service to the second international gateway into Jordan.
Aqaba is a seaside resort in Southern Jordan and after Amman a second international gateway into the country. Sandwiched in between trouble-spots in the world, Jordan Tourism is working hard to make the tourism world understand the country is safe, beautiful and ready to receive tourists.
A recently concluded UNWTO conference in Petra, Jordan brought attention to the situation in Jordan.
The latest charter flight is supported by the Jordan Tourism Board and operates in cooperation with TravCo Jordan.
It’s an example of the tangible achievements brought on by the Jordan Tourism Board’s efforts to attract international scheduled charters and low cost carriers to Aqaba.
This step will encourage more routes to be established to the city of Aqaba which will then act as a launching pad for more international tourist sites in the Kingdom.
Dr. Abed Al-Razzaq Arabiyat, managing director of the Jordan Tourism Board, said: The success we’re witnessing is a direct result of cooperative and mutual efforts from the Ministry of Tourism, Aqaba Authority and related tour operators in order to promote tourism in the Kingdom.
Arabiyat added: The number of Russian tourists has noticeably increased due to JTB’s marketing campaigns in Russia and has reached over 40 thousand tourists so far this year.
Paolo Nocerino, general manager of TravCo Jordan, a company specialized in organizing tours for Russian tourists to the Kingdom, said: We’re putting in real and palpable effort to support the revitalization of the tourism sector in Jordan through enhanced programs and through working closely with others in the travel industry in Jordan and around the world.Nocerino added
A Pegas Touristic charter flight from Russia carrying 400 tourists landed in Aqaba, Jordan today.
Aqaba is a seaside resort in Southern Jordan and after Amman a second international gateway into the country.
Sandwiched in between trouble-spots in the world, Jordan Tourism is working hard to make the tourism world understand the country is safe, beautiful and ready to receive tourists.
A recently concluded UNWTO conference in Petra, Jordan brought attention to the situation in Jordan.
The latest charter flight is supported by the Jordan Tourism Board and operates in cooperation with TravCo Jordan.
It’s an example of the tangible achievements brought on by the Jordan Tourism Board’s efforts to attract international scheduled charters and low cost carriers to Aqaba.
This step will encourage more routes to be established to the city of Aqaba which will then act as a launching pad for more international tourist sites in the Kingdom.
Dr. Abed Al-Razzaq Arabiyat, managing director of the Jordan Tourism Board, said: The success we’re witnessing is a direct result of cooperative and mutual efforts from the Ministry of Tourism, Aqaba Authority and related tour operators in order to promote tourism in the Kingdom.
Arabiyat added: The number of Russian tourists has noticeably increased due to JTB’s marketing campaigns in Russia and has reached over 40 thousand tourists so far this year.
Paolo Nocerino, general manager of TravCo Jordan, a company specialized in organizing tours for Russian tourists to the Kingdom, said: We’re putting in real and palpable effort to support the revitalization of the tourism sector in Jordan through enhanced programs and through working closely with others in the travel industry in Jordan and around the world.
Nocerino added: These positive results contribute to reinvigorating the tourism industry in Jordan through the support of TravCo PLC and their local team who are dedicated to making sure that tourists are enjoying their experiences in the Kingdom and encouraging their friends and family to do the same.
It is worth noting that the Jordan Tourism Board launched intensified campaigns in Russia starting late 2015 that extended to early 2016 in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan and Krasnodar which lead to the launch of charter flights to Aqaba.
JTB also has a strategy in place to attract charters and low cost carriers from around the world to take advantage of incentives at KHIA.
Recently a charter from Kiev also started service to the second international gateway into Jordan.
Friday, 28 April 2017
JORDAN: Golden Triangle Of Tourism,Wadi Rum, Petra And Aqaba Most Affected By Drop In Tourist Arrivals
The drop in tourists is most noticeable in what is known as Jordan's 'golden triangle' of tourism: the sites of Wadi Rum, Petra and Aqaba.
Shaker al-Onaizi started his career in tourism at the age of five by selling postcards to tourists who flocked to the desert expanse of Wadi Rum in southern Jordan.
Now the 24-year-old, like tens of thousands of other Jordanians who rely on tourism for their living, is facing his leanest year. Campsites are empty, and his 4x4 pick-up truck, which once took dozens of visitors on guided tours each day, sits idle.
"If there are tourists, we work and eat. If not, we sleep," Onaizi said as he gazed across the reddish desert.
While tourism in Jordan has been on the decline since the outbreak of the Arab Spring uprisings four years ago, it has witnessed its sharpest drop in 2015, with the number of tourists in the first four months of the year down 40 percent from 2014.
The tourism sector makes up 13 percent of Jordan's gross domestic product, and provides jobs in hotels and resorts for around 49,000 people. This figure excludes members of local communities - Bedouins in Petra and Onaizi in Rum - whose livelihoods are based on tourism.
Officials and experts in the sector attribute the decline to Jordan's prominent role in the campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). "We are paying a tax for being in the middle of an inflamed region," said Abul Razaq Arabiat, the head of Jordan's Tourism Board.
In December, ISIL downed a Jordanian jet and captured its pilot, Moaz al-Kasasbeh, in the Syrian city of Raqqa. In February, ISIL released a video showing the pilot being burned alive, sparking angry protests across Jordan calling for revenge and increased Jordanian air strikes against the group in Syria.
Tourism industry leaders say the worldwide publicity created by these events scared off thousands of tourists, prompting tour groups to cancel their bookings to the kingdom.
"The pilot crisis created a perception that Jordan is not safe," said Lina Khalid, director of the Jordan Inbound Tour Operators Association.
The capture of the pilot happened at around the same time as the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris, which Khalid believes also caused thousands of cancellations.
Many French tourists were worried by demonstrations against the cartoons that took place in Jordan,she said
Late last year and early this year, the US and French embassies in Jordan issued travel warnings, asking their citizens to be cautious and to stay away from malls and shopping centres in the country. The travel warnings have "discouraged many Westerners" from visiting Jordan, according to Arabiat.
The drop in tourists is most noticeable in what is known as Jordan's "golden triangle" of tourism: the sites of Wadi Rum, Petra, and Aqaba.
According to Khalid, occupancy of hotels in the region has not exceeded 20 percent so far this year, whereas normally occupancy rates can reach 90-95 percent.
The ancient city of Petra is nearly empty; on one day in early June, just a few dozen tourists wandered its cavernous gorges and rock-carved temples. Out of desperation, children clung to the occasional visitor who passed by, trying to sell them postcards.
Bedouin men and women advertised 50-percent-off sales on silver and antiques, while young men strolled back and forth, treading the same dusty paths with their horses and camels, trying to convince the handful of visitors to take a guided tour.
In Petra alone, 10 hotels have been reported closed this year due to mounting losses, and many have reduced their staff, leaving hundreds of residents jobless.
In Rum village, which has a population of roughly 1,300, people rely mainly on tourism as a source of income, while others work in the military or herd animals.
Onaizi, the tour guide, who dropped out of school at the age of 14 to help his father open one of the area's first campsites, said that unless the industry rebounds soon, he and many of his peers will abandon the sector.
"I have been engaged for a year and a half, and I do not know how long it will take me to build my future home," said Onaizi. In previous years, his camp used to host up to 30 or 40 people a night; now, barely a handful trickle in each week.
In recent weeks, the Jordanian government announced that it was taking measures and adopting an "emergency plan" to address the challenges facing the country's tourism sector.
The measures include waiving the $56 visa fee for visitors staying in the country for a minimum of two consecutive nights, and introducing a new, $100 "all-inclusive" pass for the country's most famous tourist sites, such as Petra, Jerash, and the site where Jesus is believed to have been baptised. Currently, the entry fee to Petra alone is $70.
Jordan's Ministry of Tourism avoids giving clarifications.
But it remains to be seen whether these measures will be enough to counter potential tourists' security concerns.
"Instability around us will remain our biggest challenge," Arabiat said. "Until the regional turmoil calms down, we have to tell the world that Jordan is safe."
Standing on a hill overlooking the flat green plains that stretch between the northern Jordanian town of Ramtha and the Syrian border, Ahmad Abu Sarhan laments the devastating consequences of the Syrian war on his hometown.
"Here, we are living in a state of war - without war," said Abu Sarhan, a 43-year-old shopkeeper.
Once known as the "Sinbads" of Jordan due to their relentless trade and ability to find commercial opportunities abroad, residents of Ramtha, 90km north of Amman, relied on the ancient route to Syria as their lifeline, counting on trade and transport between the two countries for income.
But ever since the beginning of the Syrian uprising in 2011, thousands of Ramtha families have lost their livelihoods, and now struggle to put food on the table. "Our war is economic. We are fighting to feed our children," Abu Sarhan said.
The final nail in Ramtha's economic coffin was the closure of the Jaber-Nassib border crossing after Syrian rebel groups seized it on April 4. Amid the chaos on the Syrian side, armed fighters and civilians reportedly looted the Syrian-Jordanian free zone, with losses estimated at 100 million Jordanian dinars ($140m).
"Overnight, I lost all my business and my staff lost their jobs," said Abdullah Abu Aqoolah, whose car dealership was looted. After boasting a display of 388 cars, he has only six left to his name now.
Nabil Rumman, the manager of Jordan's free zones, estimates that some 7,000 Jordanians - working in logistics, transport and other services - have lost their jobs since the Jaber-Nassib border closure.
The majority of those laid off were from Ramtha, cutting the last sources of income for the border town, while others hailed from the northern Jordanian towns of Irbid and Mafraq, which are also housing an influx of more than 200,000 Syrian refugees.
"It is a blow for the Jordanian economy, but it is the work force that has been hit hardest," Rumman said. Heavy items such as wood and construction equipment survived the looting and have been transferred to the Zarqa Free Zone, according to Rumman.
But for the residents of Ramtha, this was just the latest, and most devastating, of a series of attacks that have gradually taken away their livelihoods.
In 2011, Jordanian authorities closed the Deraa-Ramtha border crossing, a move that cost 3,500 taxi drivers their jobs, according to residents and community leaders. It also gradually blocked the flow of goods such as cotton, food and clothing from Syria to Ramtha's wholesale merchants.
"The economy in Ramtha was on life support for the past three years, but the latest closure has completely killed it," said Abdul Salam Thunibat, head of Ramtha's Chamber of Commerce. The number of active merchants in the border town registered with the chamber declined from 6,500 in 2010, to 1,000 in 2015, according to Thunibat.
"They cannot afford to pay rent, taxes, and salaries when there are no goods coming in," Thunibat said, adding that some merchants have turned to Turkey and China to import from, shouldering higher transportation costs.
By midday in Ramtha, most shops remain shuttered, with no local demand to encourage them to open. Even the local butcher offers his customers an economic choice between "fresh meat" or days-old "leftovers", due to declining demand and purchasing power.
The Syrian war has not only cut off the border town's lifeline. It has also brought an influx of tens of thousands of Syrian refugees, who have strained the local infrastructure in Ramtha and flooded the labour force with cheap, skilled labour that out-price Jordanian workers.
Rihab Krasneh, 37, shut down her 15-year-old hair salon in Ramtha after her customers turned to Syrian hairstylists who offered half-price services in their own homes. "They do not pay for rent or taxes, so whatever they earn is profit," Krasneh said.
Locals blame the Jordanian government for not doing enough to create job opportunities or improve the services and infrastructure that have been burdened by the Syrian crisis. Before the Syrian war, Ramtha's population stood at 90,000. With the influx of refugees, it has ballooned to 160,000, according to Ibraheem Saqqar, head of Ramtha's municipality.
The Jordanian government received $216m in aid to help the country cope with the pressure placed on them by the Syrian crisis. But Ramtha locals say the government has not properly allocated the funds. "We still have only one hospital. No more schools have been built, and no job opportunities were created with this aid money they talk about," Saqqar said.
The only noteworthy addition to the town has been the establishment of two new cemeteries donated by a local charity, after the war raging a few kilometres away filled up Ramtha's burial plots.
The only "breathing space for families", a community garden known as King Abdullah Gardens, was long ago converted into a camp for Syrian refugees.
Jordanian officials, however, say that aid money is not sufficient to solve the problems caused by the Syrian crisis.
With Jordanian border towns suffering economically and coping with a doubling of the population, they say their needs are too great and the donations too few. With so much need, they say it is difficult to know where to allocate the limited funds.
"Regardless of how much you do, it is not going to have an impact because the sheer numbers of refugees are enormous," Hassan Assaf, governor of Irbid,said. "If I have a million dinars, will it be enough to build a school, hospital, or fix streets?"
Meanwhile, the sounds of the Syrian war, which has killed 210,000 and displaced 3.7 million Syrians, continue to echo in Ramtha.
Every night, the crack of gunfire and the low rumble of shelling from Syria interrupts their sleep, while the occasional mortar shell falls on Jordanian soil. Luckily, the errant mortars have caused no casualties, but several Ramtha residents have been wounded over the past four years.
And lately, pictures of civilians and armed groups looting the free zones have been circulating over mobile phones. To protect their children from the echoes of war, Abu Sarhan and his wife used to tell them that the sounds of shelling were fireworks from celebrations.
But now as the children "go to school with Syrian children who tell them horrific stories about the shelling", the war has crept into their home as well.
Shaker al-Onaizi started his career in tourism at the age of five by selling postcards to tourists who flocked to the desert expanse of Wadi Rum in southern Jordan.
Now the 24-year-old, like tens of thousands of other Jordanians who rely on tourism for their living, is facing his leanest year. Campsites are empty, and his 4x4 pick-up truck, which once took dozens of visitors on guided tours each day, sits idle.
"If there are tourists, we work and eat. If not, we sleep," Onaizi said as he gazed across the reddish desert.
While tourism in Jordan has been on the decline since the outbreak of the Arab Spring uprisings four years ago, it has witnessed its sharpest drop in 2015, with the number of tourists in the first four months of the year down 40 percent from 2014.
The tourism sector makes up 13 percent of Jordan's gross domestic product, and provides jobs in hotels and resorts for around 49,000 people. This figure excludes members of local communities - Bedouins in Petra and Onaizi in Rum - whose livelihoods are based on tourism.
Officials and experts in the sector attribute the decline to Jordan's prominent role in the campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). "We are paying a tax for being in the middle of an inflamed region," said Abul Razaq Arabiat, the head of Jordan's Tourism Board.
In December, ISIL downed a Jordanian jet and captured its pilot, Moaz al-Kasasbeh, in the Syrian city of Raqqa. In February, ISIL released a video showing the pilot being burned alive, sparking angry protests across Jordan calling for revenge and increased Jordanian air strikes against the group in Syria.
Tourism industry leaders say the worldwide publicity created by these events scared off thousands of tourists, prompting tour groups to cancel their bookings to the kingdom.
"The pilot crisis created a perception that Jordan is not safe," said Lina Khalid, director of the Jordan Inbound Tour Operators Association.
The capture of the pilot happened at around the same time as the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris, which Khalid believes also caused thousands of cancellations.
Many French tourists were worried by demonstrations against the cartoons that took place in Jordan,she said
Late last year and early this year, the US and French embassies in Jordan issued travel warnings, asking their citizens to be cautious and to stay away from malls and shopping centres in the country. The travel warnings have "discouraged many Westerners" from visiting Jordan, according to Arabiat.
The drop in tourists is most noticeable in what is known as Jordan's "golden triangle" of tourism: the sites of Wadi Rum, Petra, and Aqaba.
According to Khalid, occupancy of hotels in the region has not exceeded 20 percent so far this year, whereas normally occupancy rates can reach 90-95 percent.
The ancient city of Petra is nearly empty; on one day in early June, just a few dozen tourists wandered its cavernous gorges and rock-carved temples. Out of desperation, children clung to the occasional visitor who passed by, trying to sell them postcards.
Bedouin men and women advertised 50-percent-off sales on silver and antiques, while young men strolled back and forth, treading the same dusty paths with their horses and camels, trying to convince the handful of visitors to take a guided tour.
In Petra alone, 10 hotels have been reported closed this year due to mounting losses, and many have reduced their staff, leaving hundreds of residents jobless.
In Rum village, which has a population of roughly 1,300, people rely mainly on tourism as a source of income, while others work in the military or herd animals.
Onaizi, the tour guide, who dropped out of school at the age of 14 to help his father open one of the area's first campsites, said that unless the industry rebounds soon, he and many of his peers will abandon the sector.
"I have been engaged for a year and a half, and I do not know how long it will take me to build my future home," said Onaizi. In previous years, his camp used to host up to 30 or 40 people a night; now, barely a handful trickle in each week.
In recent weeks, the Jordanian government announced that it was taking measures and adopting an "emergency plan" to address the challenges facing the country's tourism sector.
The measures include waiving the $56 visa fee for visitors staying in the country for a minimum of two consecutive nights, and introducing a new, $100 "all-inclusive" pass for the country's most famous tourist sites, such as Petra, Jerash, and the site where Jesus is believed to have been baptised. Currently, the entry fee to Petra alone is $70.
Jordan's Ministry of Tourism avoids giving clarifications.
But it remains to be seen whether these measures will be enough to counter potential tourists' security concerns.
"Instability around us will remain our biggest challenge," Arabiat said. "Until the regional turmoil calms down, we have to tell the world that Jordan is safe."
Standing on a hill overlooking the flat green plains that stretch between the northern Jordanian town of Ramtha and the Syrian border, Ahmad Abu Sarhan laments the devastating consequences of the Syrian war on his hometown.
"Here, we are living in a state of war - without war," said Abu Sarhan, a 43-year-old shopkeeper.
Once known as the "Sinbads" of Jordan due to their relentless trade and ability to find commercial opportunities abroad, residents of Ramtha, 90km north of Amman, relied on the ancient route to Syria as their lifeline, counting on trade and transport between the two countries for income.
But ever since the beginning of the Syrian uprising in 2011, thousands of Ramtha families have lost their livelihoods, and now struggle to put food on the table. "Our war is economic. We are fighting to feed our children," Abu Sarhan said.
The final nail in Ramtha's economic coffin was the closure of the Jaber-Nassib border crossing after Syrian rebel groups seized it on April 4. Amid the chaos on the Syrian side, armed fighters and civilians reportedly looted the Syrian-Jordanian free zone, with losses estimated at 100 million Jordanian dinars ($140m).
"Overnight, I lost all my business and my staff lost their jobs," said Abdullah Abu Aqoolah, whose car dealership was looted. After boasting a display of 388 cars, he has only six left to his name now.
Nabil Rumman, the manager of Jordan's free zones, estimates that some 7,000 Jordanians - working in logistics, transport and other services - have lost their jobs since the Jaber-Nassib border closure.
The majority of those laid off were from Ramtha, cutting the last sources of income for the border town, while others hailed from the northern Jordanian towns of Irbid and Mafraq, which are also housing an influx of more than 200,000 Syrian refugees.
"It is a blow for the Jordanian economy, but it is the work force that has been hit hardest," Rumman said. Heavy items such as wood and construction equipment survived the looting and have been transferred to the Zarqa Free Zone, according to Rumman.
But for the residents of Ramtha, this was just the latest, and most devastating, of a series of attacks that have gradually taken away their livelihoods.
In 2011, Jordanian authorities closed the Deraa-Ramtha border crossing, a move that cost 3,500 taxi drivers their jobs, according to residents and community leaders. It also gradually blocked the flow of goods such as cotton, food and clothing from Syria to Ramtha's wholesale merchants.
"The economy in Ramtha was on life support for the past three years, but the latest closure has completely killed it," said Abdul Salam Thunibat, head of Ramtha's Chamber of Commerce. The number of active merchants in the border town registered with the chamber declined from 6,500 in 2010, to 1,000 in 2015, according to Thunibat.
"They cannot afford to pay rent, taxes, and salaries when there are no goods coming in," Thunibat said, adding that some merchants have turned to Turkey and China to import from, shouldering higher transportation costs.
By midday in Ramtha, most shops remain shuttered, with no local demand to encourage them to open. Even the local butcher offers his customers an economic choice between "fresh meat" or days-old "leftovers", due to declining demand and purchasing power.
The Syrian war has not only cut off the border town's lifeline. It has also brought an influx of tens of thousands of Syrian refugees, who have strained the local infrastructure in Ramtha and flooded the labour force with cheap, skilled labour that out-price Jordanian workers.
Rihab Krasneh, 37, shut down her 15-year-old hair salon in Ramtha after her customers turned to Syrian hairstylists who offered half-price services in their own homes. "They do not pay for rent or taxes, so whatever they earn is profit," Krasneh said.
Locals blame the Jordanian government for not doing enough to create job opportunities or improve the services and infrastructure that have been burdened by the Syrian crisis. Before the Syrian war, Ramtha's population stood at 90,000. With the influx of refugees, it has ballooned to 160,000, according to Ibraheem Saqqar, head of Ramtha's municipality.
The Jordanian government received $216m in aid to help the country cope with the pressure placed on them by the Syrian crisis. But Ramtha locals say the government has not properly allocated the funds. "We still have only one hospital. No more schools have been built, and no job opportunities were created with this aid money they talk about," Saqqar said.
The only noteworthy addition to the town has been the establishment of two new cemeteries donated by a local charity, after the war raging a few kilometres away filled up Ramtha's burial plots.
The only "breathing space for families", a community garden known as King Abdullah Gardens, was long ago converted into a camp for Syrian refugees.
Jordanian officials, however, say that aid money is not sufficient to solve the problems caused by the Syrian crisis.
With Jordanian border towns suffering economically and coping with a doubling of the population, they say their needs are too great and the donations too few. With so much need, they say it is difficult to know where to allocate the limited funds.
"Regardless of how much you do, it is not going to have an impact because the sheer numbers of refugees are enormous," Hassan Assaf, governor of Irbid,said. "If I have a million dinars, will it be enough to build a school, hospital, or fix streets?"
Meanwhile, the sounds of the Syrian war, which has killed 210,000 and displaced 3.7 million Syrians, continue to echo in Ramtha.
Every night, the crack of gunfire and the low rumble of shelling from Syria interrupts their sleep, while the occasional mortar shell falls on Jordanian soil. Luckily, the errant mortars have caused no casualties, but several Ramtha residents have been wounded over the past four years.
And lately, pictures of civilians and armed groups looting the free zones have been circulating over mobile phones. To protect their children from the echoes of war, Abu Sarhan and his wife used to tell them that the sounds of shelling were fireworks from celebrations.
But now as the children "go to school with Syrian children who tell them horrific stories about the shelling", the war has crept into their home as well.
JORDAN: Jordan Hosts AdventureNEXT Conference 15-17/ May
Jordan will on May 15-17 host AdventureNEXT Near East, the first conference to develop ecotourism and travel throughout the Middle East and North Africa.
The event - organized with the support of Jordan's tourism and antiquities ministry and the Jordan Tourism Board - will be held alongside the inauguration of the 650-km Jordan Trail, which will cross 52 villages across the country. The Jordan Trail is expected to lead to economic growth for the local communities.
Taking part will be tourism boards, travel agents and representatives of hotel facilities strongly supporting sustainable, responsible and adventure tourism that are members of the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA), a body that has 1,100 associates in 90 countries.
Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Lina Annab Tuesday said Jordan's largest tourism investments are located in Amman, the Dead Sea and Aqaba, pointing out that the value of current investments in Aqaba and the Dead Sea amount to about JOD16 billion.
Annab is heading the Jordanian delegation participating in the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2017 in Dubai, running through Thursday with the participation of 159 countries.
She told Petra that most recent include the Ayla Oasis, which includes the first 18-hole golf course designed by the legendary golfer Greg Norman, Saraya Aqaba and Marsa Zayed, in the southern port of Aqaba.
Annab said Amman is currently witnessing significant tourism investments, such as the St. Regis and Fairmont hotel projects and the Abdali Boulevard project, which includes Rotana hotels and a chain of international restaurants.
ATM 2017 will welcome over 2,600 confirmed exhibitors – with 100 exhibiting for the first time – across 65 national pavilions, and an expected number of visitors of 30,000.
Weeks after last month's deadly castle siege in the Jordanian city of Karak, police maintained a daily presence in an armoured Jeep in the heart of the capital Amman.
A helmeted police officer constantly manned the heavy machinegun affixed to the Jeep's roof, scanning cars and pedestrians as they navigated through the central neighbourhood of Jabal al-Weibdeh. Other officers stopped and searched vehicles and pedestrians, a patrol that continued up until last week.
A vibrant neighbourhood comprising Jordanian Muslims, Christians and foreigners, Jabal al-Weibdeh is in many ways an example of the tolerant image that Jordan wants to project to the world - while the heavy, yet temporary police presence illustrates the fine line that Jordan must tread between visible security and not deterring tourists.
In 2015, tourism contributed 6 percent directly to Jordan's GDP, and more than 20 percent indirectly, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council.
After the Karak siege, the United States warned its citizens of "threats from terrorist groups throughout Jordan", adding to fears about the impacts of the attack on Jordan's tourism sector.
The modern Jordanian tourism industry was born out of conflict - in particular, Israel's capture and occupation of East Jerusalem and the West Bank in 1967, said Suleiman Farajat, an assistant professor of tourism at the University of Jordan.
"When Jordan lost the West Bank in 1967, it became very important to focus on Jordanian sites in the east, starting from Petra, where the first management plan was done in 1968," Farajat told Al Jazeera.
With the rise of oil in the region in the 1970s, the inscription of Petra as a World Heritage Site in 1985, and the filming of 1989's Indiana Jones in Petra, Jordan's international profile rose. The country's peace treaty with Israel in 1994, Farajat said, was a real turning point "when numbers of tourists doubled, and when the infrastructure of tourism became more visible".
But subsequent regional conflicts, including the 2003 Iraq war and the ongoing violence in Syria and Iraq, have heavily impacted Jordan's tourism industry, causing tourist numbers to fall. Visitor numbers to Petra were halved between 2014 and 2015, dropping from 800,000 to 400,000.
Tourism industry workers are concerned about what lies ahead. Ahmad, a tour guide who works at the Greco-Roman ruins at Jerash - which were also under tightened security after the Karak siege - has witnessed the steady decline in numbers first-hand.
Since the outbreak of Syria's civil war in 2011, he estimates there has been an 80 percent drop in tourists to Jerash.
"In the high season, we used to do up to five tours a day, each tour guide. Now in the high season we do one every day, sometimes one every two days," said Ahmad, who did not provide a last name.
He noted that his profession faces a secondary threat from the increased automation of tour-guide services, including cheaper, headphone audio-guided tours.
When they do come to Jordan, tourists' demographics have also changed, Ahmad said including the replacement of "retirees, Americans, Europeans, on a regular, or traditional tour", with younger, often poorer, tourists.
"This is reflected in the budget of the tourist. Mostly, the majority come here on a tight budget," he explained, noting that entrance fees to some of Jordan's tourist sites may be prohibitively high. A one-month entry visa to Jordan costs 40 Jordanian dinars ($56), while the entrance fee for a one-day visit to Petra is 50 dinars ($70).
When Ahmad began working as a tour guide in 2010, it was a coveted career, he said.
"In the past it used to be a full-time job, and they used to make very good money. It was the best job to do in Jordan. Some professors left teaching in universities and became tour guides," he explained. "But now it's the opposite. Tour guides are looking for other jobs."
As many tour guides struggle to maintain a steady income and morale plummets, Farajat said, this "indirectly influences the quality of service and the culture of service", harming Jordan's competitive advantage in the international market.
Still, with attacks being staged everywhere from Paris to Berlin, tourists are realising that "it could happen anywhere," Ahmad noted.
"We had the attack in Karak, and the attack in Germany. How many people were killed here, and there? In Jordan, 10. In Germany, 12," Ahmad recalled telling a group of young, western tourists in Karak on the day of last month's siege.
If you talk about terrorism, now it's everywhere in the world. So there's no point in avoiding this country or that, because it can happen in every country.
Farajat cited the importance of tourism as a way to counter Islamophobic narratives in the West.
It's very important in this time of Islamophobia, that tourists come here and see that we are normal people. We don't bite, he said with a laugh. That's important, right?
Certain areas of Jordan, especially the tourist draws of Jerash, Petra, Wadi Rum and Aqaba - may be hit hardest by any fallout from the Karak siege.
But Tourism Minister Lina Annab, who kept her post in this month's cabinet shuffle, played down reports of declining tourist numbers during a recent news conference.
"It's business as usual and the cancellations have been minimal. Unfortunately, as for danger, there is no place that is 100 percent safe," Annab said. The tourism ministry did not respond to requests for further comment.
When spring finally arrives, bringing warmer weather and wild-flower-covered hills, Ahmad and his colleagues hope more tourists will flock back to the country.
Until then, they must persevere, returning to Petra yet again without knowing whether the next day will bring work.
The event - organized with the support of Jordan's tourism and antiquities ministry and the Jordan Tourism Board - will be held alongside the inauguration of the 650-km Jordan Trail, which will cross 52 villages across the country. The Jordan Trail is expected to lead to economic growth for the local communities.
Taking part will be tourism boards, travel agents and representatives of hotel facilities strongly supporting sustainable, responsible and adventure tourism that are members of the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA), a body that has 1,100 associates in 90 countries.
Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Lina Annab Tuesday said Jordan's largest tourism investments are located in Amman, the Dead Sea and Aqaba, pointing out that the value of current investments in Aqaba and the Dead Sea amount to about JOD16 billion.
Annab is heading the Jordanian delegation participating in the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2017 in Dubai, running through Thursday with the participation of 159 countries.
She told Petra that most recent include the Ayla Oasis, which includes the first 18-hole golf course designed by the legendary golfer Greg Norman, Saraya Aqaba and Marsa Zayed, in the southern port of Aqaba.
Annab said Amman is currently witnessing significant tourism investments, such as the St. Regis and Fairmont hotel projects and the Abdali Boulevard project, which includes Rotana hotels and a chain of international restaurants.
ATM 2017 will welcome over 2,600 confirmed exhibitors – with 100 exhibiting for the first time – across 65 national pavilions, and an expected number of visitors of 30,000.
Weeks after last month's deadly castle siege in the Jordanian city of Karak, police maintained a daily presence in an armoured Jeep in the heart of the capital Amman.
A helmeted police officer constantly manned the heavy machinegun affixed to the Jeep's roof, scanning cars and pedestrians as they navigated through the central neighbourhood of Jabal al-Weibdeh. Other officers stopped and searched vehicles and pedestrians, a patrol that continued up until last week.
A vibrant neighbourhood comprising Jordanian Muslims, Christians and foreigners, Jabal al-Weibdeh is in many ways an example of the tolerant image that Jordan wants to project to the world - while the heavy, yet temporary police presence illustrates the fine line that Jordan must tread between visible security and not deterring tourists.
In 2015, tourism contributed 6 percent directly to Jordan's GDP, and more than 20 percent indirectly, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council.
After the Karak siege, the United States warned its citizens of "threats from terrorist groups throughout Jordan", adding to fears about the impacts of the attack on Jordan's tourism sector.
The modern Jordanian tourism industry was born out of conflict - in particular, Israel's capture and occupation of East Jerusalem and the West Bank in 1967, said Suleiman Farajat, an assistant professor of tourism at the University of Jordan.
"When Jordan lost the West Bank in 1967, it became very important to focus on Jordanian sites in the east, starting from Petra, where the first management plan was done in 1968," Farajat told Al Jazeera.
With the rise of oil in the region in the 1970s, the inscription of Petra as a World Heritage Site in 1985, and the filming of 1989's Indiana Jones in Petra, Jordan's international profile rose. The country's peace treaty with Israel in 1994, Farajat said, was a real turning point "when numbers of tourists doubled, and when the infrastructure of tourism became more visible".
But subsequent regional conflicts, including the 2003 Iraq war and the ongoing violence in Syria and Iraq, have heavily impacted Jordan's tourism industry, causing tourist numbers to fall. Visitor numbers to Petra were halved between 2014 and 2015, dropping from 800,000 to 400,000.
Tourism industry workers are concerned about what lies ahead. Ahmad, a tour guide who works at the Greco-Roman ruins at Jerash - which were also under tightened security after the Karak siege - has witnessed the steady decline in numbers first-hand.
Since the outbreak of Syria's civil war in 2011, he estimates there has been an 80 percent drop in tourists to Jerash.
"In the high season, we used to do up to five tours a day, each tour guide. Now in the high season we do one every day, sometimes one every two days," said Ahmad, who did not provide a last name.
He noted that his profession faces a secondary threat from the increased automation of tour-guide services, including cheaper, headphone audio-guided tours.
When they do come to Jordan, tourists' demographics have also changed, Ahmad said including the replacement of "retirees, Americans, Europeans, on a regular, or traditional tour", with younger, often poorer, tourists.
"This is reflected in the budget of the tourist. Mostly, the majority come here on a tight budget," he explained, noting that entrance fees to some of Jordan's tourist sites may be prohibitively high. A one-month entry visa to Jordan costs 40 Jordanian dinars ($56), while the entrance fee for a one-day visit to Petra is 50 dinars ($70).
When Ahmad began working as a tour guide in 2010, it was a coveted career, he said.
"In the past it used to be a full-time job, and they used to make very good money. It was the best job to do in Jordan. Some professors left teaching in universities and became tour guides," he explained. "But now it's the opposite. Tour guides are looking for other jobs."
As many tour guides struggle to maintain a steady income and morale plummets, Farajat said, this "indirectly influences the quality of service and the culture of service", harming Jordan's competitive advantage in the international market.
Still, with attacks being staged everywhere from Paris to Berlin, tourists are realising that "it could happen anywhere," Ahmad noted.
"We had the attack in Karak, and the attack in Germany. How many people were killed here, and there? In Jordan, 10. In Germany, 12," Ahmad recalled telling a group of young, western tourists in Karak on the day of last month's siege.
If you talk about terrorism, now it's everywhere in the world. So there's no point in avoiding this country or that, because it can happen in every country.
Farajat cited the importance of tourism as a way to counter Islamophobic narratives in the West.
It's very important in this time of Islamophobia, that tourists come here and see that we are normal people. We don't bite, he said with a laugh. That's important, right?
Certain areas of Jordan, especially the tourist draws of Jerash, Petra, Wadi Rum and Aqaba - may be hit hardest by any fallout from the Karak siege.
But Tourism Minister Lina Annab, who kept her post in this month's cabinet shuffle, played down reports of declining tourist numbers during a recent news conference.
"It's business as usual and the cancellations have been minimal. Unfortunately, as for danger, there is no place that is 100 percent safe," Annab said. The tourism ministry did not respond to requests for further comment.
When spring finally arrives, bringing warmer weather and wild-flower-covered hills, Ahmad and his colleagues hope more tourists will flock back to the country.
Until then, they must persevere, returning to Petra yet again without knowing whether the next day will bring work.
Wednesday, 22 March 2017
JORDAN: Struggling To Attract Tourists Again
For weeks after last month's deadly castle siege in the Jordanian city of Karak, police maintained a daily presence in an armoured Jeep in the heart of the capital Amman.
A helmeted police officer constantly manned the heavy machinegun affixed to the Jeep's roof, scanning cars and pedestrians as they navigated through the central neighbourhood of Jabal al-Weibdeh.
Other officers stopped and searched vehicles and pedestrians, a patrol that continued up until last week.
A vibrant neighbourhood comprising Jordanian Muslims, Christians and foreigners, Jabal al-Weibdeh is in many ways an example of the tolerant image that Jordan wants to project to the world - while the heavy, yet temporary police presence illustrates the fine line that Jordan must tread between visible security and not deterring tourists.
In 2015, tourism contributed 6 percent directly to Jordan's GDP, and more than 20 percent indirectly, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council.
After the Karak siege, the United States warned its citizens of "threats from terrorist groups throughout Jordan", adding to fears about the impacts of the attack on Jordan's tourism sector.
The modern Jordanian tourism industry was born out of conflict - in particular, Israel's capture and occupation of East Jerusalem and the West Bank in 1967, said Suleiman Farajat, an assistant professor of tourism at the University of Jordan.
"When Jordan lost the West Bank in 1967, it became very important to focus on Jordanian sites in the east, starting from Petra, where the first management plan was done in 1968," Farajat said.
With the rise of oil in the region in the 1970s, the inscription of Petra as a World Heritage Site in 1985, and the filming of 1989's Indiana Jones in Petra, Jordan's international profile rose.
The country's peace treaty with Israel in 1994, Farajat said, was a real turning point "when numbers of tourists doubled, and when the infrastructure of tourism became more visible"
But subsequent regional conflicts, including the 2003 Iraq war and the ongoing violence in Syria and Iraq, have heavily impacted Jordan's tourism industry, causing tourist numbers to fall.
Visitor numbers to Petra fell between 2014 and 2015, dropping from 800,000 to 400,000.
Tourism industry workers are concerned about what lies ahead.
Ahmad, a tour guide who works at the Greco-Roman ruins at Jerash - which were also under tightened security after the Karak siege - has witnessed the steady decline in numbers first-hand.
Since the outbreak of Syria's civil war in 2011, he estimates there has been an 80 percent drop in tourists to Jerash.
"In the high season, we used to do up to five tours a day, each tour guide.
Now in the high season we do one every day, sometimes one every two days," said Ahmad. He noted that his profession faces a secondary threat from the increased automation of tour-guide services, including cheaper, headphone audio-guided tours.
When they do come to Jordan, tourists' demographics have also changed, Ahmad said, including the replacement of "retirees, Americans, Europeans, on a regular, or traditional tour", with younger, often poorer, tourists.
"This is reflected in the budget of the tourist. Mostly, the majority come here on a tight budget," he explained, noting that entrance fees to some of Jordan's tourist sites may be prohibitively high.
A one-month entry visa to Jordan costs 40 Jordanian dinars ($56), while the entrance fee for a one-day visit to Petra is 50 dinars ($70).
When Ahmad began working as a tour guide in 2010, it was a coveted career, he said.
"In the past it used to be a full-time job, and they used to make very good money. It was the best job to do in Jordan.
Some professors left teaching in universities and became tour guides," he explained. "But now it's the opposite. Tour guides are looking for other jobs."
As many tour guides struggle to maintain a steady income and morale plummets, Farajat said, this "indirectly influences the quality of service and the culture of service", harming Jordan's competitive advantage in the international market.
Still, with attacks being staged everywhere from Paris to Berlin, tourists are realising that "it could happen anywhere," Ahmad noted.
"We had the attack in Karak, and the attack in Germany. How many people were killed here, and there? In Jordan, 10. In Germany, 12," Ahmad recalled telling a group of young, western tourists in Karak on the day of last month's siege.
"If you talk about terrorism, now it's everywhere in the world. So there's no point in avoiding this country or that, because it can happen in every country."
Farajat cited the importance of tourism as a way to counter Islamophobic narratives in the West.
"It's very important in this time of Islamophobia, that tourists come here and see that we are normal people. We don't bite," he said with a laugh. "That's important, right?"
Certain areas of Jordan - especially the tourist draws of Jerash, Petra, Wadi Rum and Aqaba - may be hit hardest by any fallout from the Karak siege.
But Tourism Minister Lina Annab, who kept her post in this month's cabinet shuffle, played down reports of declining tourist numbers during a recent news conference.
"It's business as usual and the cancellations have been minimal. Unfortunately, as for danger, there is no place that is 100 percent safe," Annab said.
When spring finally arrives, bringing warmer weather and wild-flower-covered hills, Ahmad and his colleagues hope more tourists will flock back to the country.
Until then, they must persevere, returning to Petra yet again without knowing whether the next day will bring work.
A helmeted police officer constantly manned the heavy machinegun affixed to the Jeep's roof, scanning cars and pedestrians as they navigated through the central neighbourhood of Jabal al-Weibdeh.
Other officers stopped and searched vehicles and pedestrians, a patrol that continued up until last week.
A vibrant neighbourhood comprising Jordanian Muslims, Christians and foreigners, Jabal al-Weibdeh is in many ways an example of the tolerant image that Jordan wants to project to the world - while the heavy, yet temporary police presence illustrates the fine line that Jordan must tread between visible security and not deterring tourists.
In 2015, tourism contributed 6 percent directly to Jordan's GDP, and more than 20 percent indirectly, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council.
After the Karak siege, the United States warned its citizens of "threats from terrorist groups throughout Jordan", adding to fears about the impacts of the attack on Jordan's tourism sector.
The modern Jordanian tourism industry was born out of conflict - in particular, Israel's capture and occupation of East Jerusalem and the West Bank in 1967, said Suleiman Farajat, an assistant professor of tourism at the University of Jordan.
"When Jordan lost the West Bank in 1967, it became very important to focus on Jordanian sites in the east, starting from Petra, where the first management plan was done in 1968," Farajat said.
With the rise of oil in the region in the 1970s, the inscription of Petra as a World Heritage Site in 1985, and the filming of 1989's Indiana Jones in Petra, Jordan's international profile rose.
The country's peace treaty with Israel in 1994, Farajat said, was a real turning point "when numbers of tourists doubled, and when the infrastructure of tourism became more visible"
But subsequent regional conflicts, including the 2003 Iraq war and the ongoing violence in Syria and Iraq, have heavily impacted Jordan's tourism industry, causing tourist numbers to fall.
Visitor numbers to Petra fell between 2014 and 2015, dropping from 800,000 to 400,000.
Tourism industry workers are concerned about what lies ahead.
Ahmad, a tour guide who works at the Greco-Roman ruins at Jerash - which were also under tightened security after the Karak siege - has witnessed the steady decline in numbers first-hand.
Since the outbreak of Syria's civil war in 2011, he estimates there has been an 80 percent drop in tourists to Jerash.
"In the high season, we used to do up to five tours a day, each tour guide.
Now in the high season we do one every day, sometimes one every two days," said Ahmad. He noted that his profession faces a secondary threat from the increased automation of tour-guide services, including cheaper, headphone audio-guided tours.
When they do come to Jordan, tourists' demographics have also changed, Ahmad said, including the replacement of "retirees, Americans, Europeans, on a regular, or traditional tour", with younger, often poorer, tourists.
"This is reflected in the budget of the tourist. Mostly, the majority come here on a tight budget," he explained, noting that entrance fees to some of Jordan's tourist sites may be prohibitively high.
A one-month entry visa to Jordan costs 40 Jordanian dinars ($56), while the entrance fee for a one-day visit to Petra is 50 dinars ($70).
When Ahmad began working as a tour guide in 2010, it was a coveted career, he said.
"In the past it used to be a full-time job, and they used to make very good money. It was the best job to do in Jordan.
Some professors left teaching in universities and became tour guides," he explained. "But now it's the opposite. Tour guides are looking for other jobs."
As many tour guides struggle to maintain a steady income and morale plummets, Farajat said, this "indirectly influences the quality of service and the culture of service", harming Jordan's competitive advantage in the international market.
Still, with attacks being staged everywhere from Paris to Berlin, tourists are realising that "it could happen anywhere," Ahmad noted.
"We had the attack in Karak, and the attack in Germany. How many people were killed here, and there? In Jordan, 10. In Germany, 12," Ahmad recalled telling a group of young, western tourists in Karak on the day of last month's siege.
"If you talk about terrorism, now it's everywhere in the world. So there's no point in avoiding this country or that, because it can happen in every country."
Farajat cited the importance of tourism as a way to counter Islamophobic narratives in the West.
"It's very important in this time of Islamophobia, that tourists come here and see that we are normal people. We don't bite," he said with a laugh. "That's important, right?"
Certain areas of Jordan - especially the tourist draws of Jerash, Petra, Wadi Rum and Aqaba - may be hit hardest by any fallout from the Karak siege.
But Tourism Minister Lina Annab, who kept her post in this month's cabinet shuffle, played down reports of declining tourist numbers during a recent news conference.
"It's business as usual and the cancellations have been minimal. Unfortunately, as for danger, there is no place that is 100 percent safe," Annab said.
When spring finally arrives, bringing warmer weather and wild-flower-covered hills, Ahmad and his colleagues hope more tourists will flock back to the country.
Until then, they must persevere, returning to Petra yet again without knowing whether the next day will bring work.
Saturday, 8 October 2016
JORDAN: Jordan Most Popular Tourist Destinations East Of The Mediterranean
Whoa, slow down a minute. I've never even thought about going to Jordan.
Then you're missing out! There are a million reasons to go – from the extraordinary cultural heritage, UNESCO world heritage sites, the unique lifestyle, and so much more.
Did you know you can follow the footsteps of Lawrence of Arabia on the back of a camel or donkey? Or you can bathe in the mineral waters of the Dead Sea or scuba dive in the Red Sea?
Imagine taking a hot air balloon ride in the desert over the Mars-like landscape of Wadi Rum.
I had no idea. That seems really cool! But surely visiting all these amazing places must be complicated.
No, not at all. Sure, they may be thousands of years old and in the middle of the desert, but getting there is fairly straightforward.
Jordan has great infrastructure that makes it easy for visitors to see the country’s treasures – the roads are smooth and well maintained and there are plenty of bus shuttle services to all major tourist attractions.
The hardest part is choosing which places to see – there are just so many!
Got it. But is it safe?
Of course! Jordanian society is modern and pretty progressive in many ways, while still drawing inspiration from its remarkable cultural history. Crime levels are low – Jordan is generally as safe as or safer than many major cities in the US or Europe.
The only area the US State Department doesn't recommend visiting these days is a small area near the Syrian border – but there's still an entire country to be discovered.
Okay, that's good to know. So what exactly is this Jordan Pass thing?
Glad you asked! The Jordanian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities in cooperation with the Jordan Tourism Board introduced the Jordan Pass in late 2015 with the express goal of making it easier for foreign tourists to see more of the country at a lower cost.
It’s already extremely popular – basically it’s the key to a smooth tourist experience in Jordan, allowing you to see all the sights without any hassle. There are more than 40 attractions included.
40! Really? That's a lot! What if I'm only interested in 10?
That’s fine – you'll still save a ton of time and money with the Jordan Pass. It gives you free entrance to all included attractions. So it doesn’t take long before the Jordan Pass starts paying for itself.
Hmmm. I’m still not sure. Can you give me an example?
Sure. Take the ancient stone city of Petra – an attraction at the top of almost everyone’s Jordan wish list. A day pass to Petra normally costs about $70.
And then you’ll for sure want to see Jerash – knows as the Rome away from Rome – and that costs about $14. So visiting those two attractions alone costs $84.
Compare that to the Jordan Pass – which costs as little as $99 and includes entrance to basically everything. It’s a real bargin.
That seems like a pretty good deal, I gotta admit.
It is! And it gets better. Not only does the Jordan Pass save you money, it also saves you time by allowing you to avoid lines to purchase tickets on-site. It’s like a VIP pass to Jordan’s top attractions.
And less time in line means more time inside marvelling at the ruins or getting that killer selfie where ancient kings once stood.
This Jordan Pass sounds better and better. I wonder!
… Oh! I almost forgot. When you stay in Jordan for at least three nights, the Jordan Pass also waives your tourist visa fee – which normally costs $56.
Wow! That was my next question actually. What about a visa? It’s free?
Yep, with the Jordan Pass and a three-night stay.
Cool. But I bet the visa application process can be a hassle. How many months in advance do I need to contact the embassy?
You don’t have to contact the embassy at all. If you purchase the Jordan Pass before travelling to Jordan, you can just show it at the airport and receive your visa upon arrival.
Seriously? Sounds like it time to start looking at flights. But how long does the pass last?
Once activated, the Jordan Pass is valid for two weeks – plenty of time to explore everything the country has to offer. But you can also buy the Jordan Press far in advance or even as a present for someone else. It can activated up to 12 months after purchase.
Nice. So let me get this straight, with the Jordan Pass I won’t have any visa hassles, I get to skip the ticket line at Petra and other attractions, and I save a boatload of cash?
That’s right. Did I mention you also gain access to downloadable digital brochures for the all the attractions?
No. But you didn’t have to. I want to know how I get my hands on the Jordan Pass.
It's simple – just go to www.jordanpass.jo. You can buy the pass online and it will be emailed to you as a PDF. Show it on your phone or print it off – it's up to you!
Access to all the wonders of Jordan are only a few clicks away.
Awesome. I’m checking flights as we speak.
Have a great trip!
Friday, 4 December 2015
JORDAN: Taybet Zaman Hotel & Resort
Atmospheric Resort Hotel encompassing renovated 19th-century village with antique style, traditional architecture & period detail.
Year Built: 1893
Year Last Renovated: 2011
Check in Time: 12:00 PM
Check out Time: 12:00 PM
Number of Floors: 1
Taybet Zaman is an authentic late 19th century Jordanian village of 40,000 square meters. It is situated 9 kilometers South East of Petra the ancient Nabatean City carved out of the mountains more than 2000 years ago.
Jordan Tourism Investments (JTI) transformed the village of Taybeh by preserving and converting the existing houses and structures of the village into a five star resort hotel. While recapturing the spirits of 19th century style of living, guests can now sample the old charming beauty of the place without sacrificing the modern comforts, tastes and facilities of today's needs.
The resort features 105 rooms (small houses), 7 Junior Suites and 1 Royal Suite in which old inhabitants of the village lived. The architecture of the village boasts grand arches, vaults and houses of local stone that keeps cool in summer and warm in winter. Facilities at the village are built around themes, and this allows the visitor guest to experience the old village way of life.
Taybet Zaman provides the ideal place for visitors who wish to explore Petra while at the same time offering modern recreational facilities and entertainment in a traditional Jordanian village. Our favorite is having a Turkish bath after a long day in Petra ending with a dinner of traditional Syrio-African cuisine..
Attractions
Sahtain
Here is the place for the guest to taste Jordan's rich culinary heritage. Traditional Arab and international home-cooked specialities can be enjoyed here for breakfast, lunch and dinner. A restaurant with a taste of old times.
Bustan
The village square features traditional and folkloric entertainment.
Diwan
A bar & garden terrace where you can relax and enjoy the breathtaking sunset view over Petra. Not to be missed.
Taboun
The oriental bakery provides freshly made Arabic bread & savories.
El-Beer
This discotheque and bar, by the village square "Bustan", is THE place to dance the night away.
Saraya
The ball room suitable for all types of functions up to 300 persons.
Hammam
The Turkish bath is a simple way to relax after a long day, and has original Ottoman features and offers the services of a masseur.
Birkeh & Sehha
The swimming pool and health centre that will keep you in top shape during your stay at Taybet Zaman.
Souk
The ArtiZaman handicraft market where one can watch craftsmen labor in the making of old-age crafts.
Attar
The spice shop that offers exotic herbs and spices.
Mukhtar
The photo shop to take a picture in typical Bedouin attire.
Dukkan
The ideal gift shop to have your mementos & souvenirs of Jordan.
Other Attractions
Shrak Show (Demonstration of Arabic bread making
Hotel Social club, Taybeh Village Club
Street peddlers
Arabic coffee man
O’ud music (Arabic guitar)
Camel rides
Folkloric Dabke (dancing)
Bedouin Tent
Local bands & DJ
Facilities
In-room facilities
Sitting areas
Private bathrooms
Air-conditioning
Mini-bar
Direct-dial telephones
Souvenir shops
Laundry service
Discotheque
24 hour room service
Bakery
Valet service
Turkish bath
Ball room Pool bar
Spice shop
Health & Fitness center
Restaurant & Cafes
Car park
Billiards room
Garden terrace
Satellite television with remote control
Theatre
ArtiZaman - Handicraft Souk
Medical care
Activities
AN ESCORTED TOUR OF THE VILLAGE
A tour guide and/or Taybet Zaman pubic relations staff will give you a briefing on the history of the village where clients can mingle with Jordanian villagers who enjoy this visit to their past.
DAILY NIGHT ENTERTAINMENT
Beautiful summer nights under the lit stars in the village square with live Oriental music and hubbly bubblies (the traditional Arghilleh), and the swirls of fragrant incense smoke make the night evenings at Taybet Zaman typically Arabian. Here, local men play their flute and haunting melodies echo through out the village, while the smell of Taboun, traditional bread, fill the air with its freshly, delicious aroma.
THEME NIGHTS
For a magical, entertaining and truly unforgettable experience, groups can enjoy theme evenings at the village such as authentic "Arabian nights", the often-spoken of "One Thousand and One Nights", traditional Jordanian "Bedouin Night" and an international evening from "Around the World". These authentic theme evenings are held at the village square "Al-Bustan" (weather permitting) or at Al- Saraya ballroom.
THE MAGIC OF ARTIZAMAN HANDICRAFT SOUK
Visitor guests can enjoy before their eyes the making of traditional handicrafts such as beautiful pottery, hand-blown glass, jewellery, at the workshops and order their own personalised gift items and souvenirs. A wide selection of exotic aromas and spices awaits the client at the Attar, where biblical Incense and Myrrh can be found. ArtiZaman handicraft workshops and market (Souk) are open daily from 9 am to 11 pm.
Guests can also browse through the gift shop and buy mementoes and souvenirs of both Taybet Zaman and Jordan, and take also an ideal memento of their own picture in typical Bedouin attire.
Awards
Taybet Zaman hotel & resort - Global winner of British Airways Tourism for Tomorrow Award 1996, and a recipient of Green Globe Commendation Award 1997, and the EIBTM 1998 Green Award is the second of JTI's tourism projects. It is an authentic late 19th century Jordanian village of 40,000 square meters (10 acres) situated 9 kilometers (5.6 miles) south-east of Petra - the old Nabatean city carved out of the mountains more than 2000 years ago.
Taybet Zaman, the first environmentally friendly establishment of its kind in the region, was renovated back to the old architecture of the time. It offers its guests first-class accommodation while keeping its Old World charm. The resort was opened to the public in July 1994, and features (houses) in which old inhabitants of the village lived. It's Sahtain restaurant serve both traditional Arabic and international dishes. Its terraces and Town Square offer an uninterrupted view of the rose colored Sharaa mountains.
BOOK: reservation@taybetzaman.com
Year Built: 1893
Year Last Renovated: 2011
Check in Time: 12:00 PM
Check out Time: 12:00 PM
Number of Floors: 1
Taybet Zaman is an authentic late 19th century Jordanian village of 40,000 square meters. It is situated 9 kilometers South East of Petra the ancient Nabatean City carved out of the mountains more than 2000 years ago.
Jordan Tourism Investments (JTI) transformed the village of Taybeh by preserving and converting the existing houses and structures of the village into a five star resort hotel. While recapturing the spirits of 19th century style of living, guests can now sample the old charming beauty of the place without sacrificing the modern comforts, tastes and facilities of today's needs.
The resort features 105 rooms (small houses), 7 Junior Suites and 1 Royal Suite in which old inhabitants of the village lived. The architecture of the village boasts grand arches, vaults and houses of local stone that keeps cool in summer and warm in winter. Facilities at the village are built around themes, and this allows the visitor guest to experience the old village way of life.
Taybet Zaman provides the ideal place for visitors who wish to explore Petra while at the same time offering modern recreational facilities and entertainment in a traditional Jordanian village. Our favorite is having a Turkish bath after a long day in Petra ending with a dinner of traditional Syrio-African cuisine..
Attractions
Sahtain
Here is the place for the guest to taste Jordan's rich culinary heritage. Traditional Arab and international home-cooked specialities can be enjoyed here for breakfast, lunch and dinner. A restaurant with a taste of old times.
Bustan
The village square features traditional and folkloric entertainment.
Diwan
A bar & garden terrace where you can relax and enjoy the breathtaking sunset view over Petra. Not to be missed.
Taboun
The oriental bakery provides freshly made Arabic bread & savories.
El-Beer
This discotheque and bar, by the village square "Bustan", is THE place to dance the night away.
Saraya
The ball room suitable for all types of functions up to 300 persons.
Hammam
The Turkish bath is a simple way to relax after a long day, and has original Ottoman features and offers the services of a masseur.
Birkeh & Sehha
The swimming pool and health centre that will keep you in top shape during your stay at Taybet Zaman.
Souk
The ArtiZaman handicraft market where one can watch craftsmen labor in the making of old-age crafts.
Attar
The spice shop that offers exotic herbs and spices.
Mukhtar
The photo shop to take a picture in typical Bedouin attire.
Dukkan
The ideal gift shop to have your mementos & souvenirs of Jordan.
Other Attractions
Shrak Show (Demonstration of Arabic bread making
Hotel Social club, Taybeh Village Club
Street peddlers
Arabic coffee man
O’ud music (Arabic guitar)
Camel rides
Folkloric Dabke (dancing)
Bedouin Tent
Local bands & DJ
Facilities
In-room facilities
Sitting areas
Private bathrooms
Air-conditioning
Mini-bar
Direct-dial telephones
Souvenir shops
Laundry service
Discotheque
24 hour room service
Bakery
Valet service
Turkish bath
Ball room Pool bar
Spice shop
Health & Fitness center
Restaurant & Cafes
Car park
Billiards room
Garden terrace
Satellite television with remote control
Theatre
ArtiZaman - Handicraft Souk
Medical care
Activities
AN ESCORTED TOUR OF THE VILLAGE
A tour guide and/or Taybet Zaman pubic relations staff will give you a briefing on the history of the village where clients can mingle with Jordanian villagers who enjoy this visit to their past.
DAILY NIGHT ENTERTAINMENT
Beautiful summer nights under the lit stars in the village square with live Oriental music and hubbly bubblies (the traditional Arghilleh), and the swirls of fragrant incense smoke make the night evenings at Taybet Zaman typically Arabian. Here, local men play their flute and haunting melodies echo through out the village, while the smell of Taboun, traditional bread, fill the air with its freshly, delicious aroma.
THEME NIGHTS
For a magical, entertaining and truly unforgettable experience, groups can enjoy theme evenings at the village such as authentic "Arabian nights", the often-spoken of "One Thousand and One Nights", traditional Jordanian "Bedouin Night" and an international evening from "Around the World". These authentic theme evenings are held at the village square "Al-Bustan" (weather permitting) or at Al- Saraya ballroom.
THE MAGIC OF ARTIZAMAN HANDICRAFT SOUK
Visitor guests can enjoy before their eyes the making of traditional handicrafts such as beautiful pottery, hand-blown glass, jewellery, at the workshops and order their own personalised gift items and souvenirs. A wide selection of exotic aromas and spices awaits the client at the Attar, where biblical Incense and Myrrh can be found. ArtiZaman handicraft workshops and market (Souk) are open daily from 9 am to 11 pm.
Guests can also browse through the gift shop and buy mementoes and souvenirs of both Taybet Zaman and Jordan, and take also an ideal memento of their own picture in typical Bedouin attire.
Awards
Taybet Zaman hotel & resort - Global winner of British Airways Tourism for Tomorrow Award 1996, and a recipient of Green Globe Commendation Award 1997, and the EIBTM 1998 Green Award is the second of JTI's tourism projects. It is an authentic late 19th century Jordanian village of 40,000 square meters (10 acres) situated 9 kilometers (5.6 miles) south-east of Petra - the old Nabatean city carved out of the mountains more than 2000 years ago.
Taybet Zaman, the first environmentally friendly establishment of its kind in the region, was renovated back to the old architecture of the time. It offers its guests first-class accommodation while keeping its Old World charm. The resort was opened to the public in July 1994, and features (houses) in which old inhabitants of the village lived. It's Sahtain restaurant serve both traditional Arabic and international dishes. Its terraces and Town Square offer an uninterrupted view of the rose colored Sharaa mountains.
BOOK: reservation@taybetzaman.com
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