Jordan Times
Friday, April 27, 2007
Q1 tourism figures
reveal upward trend
By Dalya Dajani
AMMAN — Visitor arrivals continued to grow during the first quarter of this
year, rising by 20 per cent compared to the same period last year, official
figures revealed this week.
Preliminary figures released by the Ministry of Tourism show that some 1.388
million tourists visited the country between January and March, compared to 1.1
million during the corresponding period of 2006.
The number of visitors on package tours also increased as well as the number of
nights spent.
Tour groups also jumped by 3.3 per cent, reaching a total of 65,574 tourists
compared to 63, 411 in the same period of last year, with the number of nights
spent in 3-, 4- and 5-star hotels also rising by 1.3 per cent.
Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Osama Dabbas welcomed the news, saying both
his ministry and the Jordan Tourism Board have been promoting the Kingdom’s
attractions in international and regional tourism exhibitions over recent
months, particularly in the key Gulf market.
“We have continued to move ahead with marketing efforts abroad, including
specific promotional campaigns targeting the Gulf Cooperation Council
countries,” said Dabbas.
“These efforts have focused on attracting both regular travellers as well as
those on charter flights and cruises,” he added.
According to the minister, there is optimism that this summer will see an
increase in visitors, with hotels and tour and travel agencies already reporting
an increase in bookings in Aqaba, the Dead Sea and Petra.
The Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Wednesday that a group of Estonian
tour and travel agents visited Aqaba to gain firsthand knowledge of the resort’s
attractions in order to market the Red Sea resort in their travel brochures.
Meanwhile, the ancient Nabataean city of Petra, which is currently competing for
the New 7 Wonders of the World title, is managing to attract increasing numbers
of tourists.
The latest figures show that tourist arrivals there increased by 12 per cent
during the first quarter of this year, totalling 100,664 tourists, mostly
foreigners.
According to the Central Bank of Jordan, arrivals between January and March
increased revenues by 30 per cent to JD268.9 million, compared to JD188.23
during the same period of last year.