Jordan Times
Sunday, April 25, 2004
By Dalya Dajani
AMMAN — The Kingdom's tourism sector is off to a good start this year, with a 24.3 per cent increase in the number of tourists during the first quarter of 2004 compared to the same period of last year, official figures showed Saturday.According to the Ministry of Tourism, the 331,879 tourists who visited Jordan between January and March generated JD126.3 million in tourist receipts for the Kingdom compared to JD112.4 in the first quarter of 2003.
Tourists from the Americas and Europe jumped 108 per cent and 68 per cent respectively in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period of last year, ministry figures revealed.
Tourism Minister Alia Bouran described the increase in tourist traffic from the US, Europe and Arab countries as promising signs of a pickup in travel to the region.
Bouran regarded the five per cent increase in the number of Gulf tourists to the Kingdom in what is usually an off-peak season for visitors from that region, as a positive indicator of the country standing as an all-year round destination.
Tourism receipts from entry fees to historical and archaeological sites also witnessed a 273 per cent increase, the ministry's preliminary figures showed.
Tourists visiting the Kingdom's main tourist sites generated JD582,187 in receipts during the first quarter of this year compared to JD155,987 in the same period of last year.