Jordan Times
Thursday, April 28, 2005
Tourism Ministry unveils $60
million plan for new product development
AMMAN (JT) — The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities on Tuesday showcased its
plans to invest more than $60 million in the immediate future to develop new and
existing tourism sites in the Kingdom.
During a tourism product development workshop, the ministry sought feedback from
the private sector to refine and finalise these plans before their
implementation.
According to Nadim Muasher, chairman of the National Tourism Strategy Steering
Committee, the private sector is discussing the creation of a private-public
sector company to manage publicly-owned tourism sites with the ministry.
“The ministry is living up to its promise to engage the private sector in
planning for tourism product development,” said Zaid Goussous, product
development and competitiveness team leader at Tuesday's Public-Private
Partnership in Tourism Product Development workshop.
“The human resources development pillar (committee) already has a public-private
partnership working toward upgrading industry workers' skills through the
Applied University of Jordan: Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality,” Goussous
said.
The ministry also shared a list of tourist sites to invest in and/or manage with
investors from the private sector.
“These investments are crucial to emphasise Jordan's rich product offering and
diversity,” Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Alia Hattough-Bouran said.
“Through letting investors and stakeholders know about these potential
investment opportunities, we want to get everyone involved in creating quality
tourism.”
The minister reiterated that it is up to the entire tourism industry to improve
the tourism product. Tour operators for instance, must present creative
itineraries to extend tourists' stay in the Kingdom, while tour guides must
develop new routes for tourists, many of whom are already seeing Jordan as an
attractive tourist destination.
The workshop was attended by industry leaders from the public and the private
sectors, including tour operators, restaurant owners, hoteliers, tourism guides,
NGOs, community-based organisations and private investors.
The development of the National Tourism Strategy is supported by the United
States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented in
partnership with the USAID-funded AMIR Programme.