Jordan Times
Monday, August 29, 2005
Tourism industry
generates JD420.1m between January and June
The Kingdom is continuing to witness an upward trend in tourist
traffic this year, with visitors staying for longer periods than before
By Dalya Dajani
AMMAN — The tourism industry got off to a good start this year with revenues
generated by the sector rising 10.7 per cent in the first half of this year
compared to the same period in 2004.
According to figures released by the Ministry of Tourism yesterday, revenues in
the first half of 2005 totalled JD420.1 million, compared to JD379.5 million in
the same period last year.
Minister of Tourism Alia Hattough-Bouran told the press that the Kingdom was
continuing to witness an upward trend in tourist traffic this year, with
visitors staying for longer periods than before.
Around 2.367 million tourists visited Jordan in the first half of 2005 compared
to 2.162 million tourists in the same period of last year — an overall increase
of 9.5 per cent.
Tourists from Arab countries topped the list of visitors, constituting 73 per
cent of total tourist arrivals to the Kingdom.
The figures indicated that some 1.733 million Gulf and Arab tourists visited
Jordan in 2005 between January and compared to 1.574 million tourists during the
same period of 2004 — a 10.1 per cent increase.
European visitors constituted the second largest percentage of arrivals to the
Kingdom, with 273,930 million tourists in the first six months of this year
compared to 248,263 visitors during the same period of last year — a rise of
10.3 per cent in that comparative period, according to the figures.
American tourists, who increased by 15 per cent in the first half of this year,
constituted only 2.8 per cent of total arrivals to the Kingdom.
Meanwhile, visitors from Asia dropped 9.4 per cent and constituted 2.7 per cent
of total arrivals.
Bouran said tourism industry leaders have been pushing ahead to develop a
quality tourism destination with diverse facilities and quality products and
services available.
This, she indicated, has included vigorous marketing efforts to boost the
country's image as a safe vacation destination.
All these elements have all helped shore up tourism in the Kingdom with visitors
staying longer periods in the country, she added.
The figures showed that the number of tourists on package tours to the Kingdom
went up by 35.7 per cent in the first half of this year — 132,356 compared to
97,534 during the same period last year.
In addition, the average length of stay for tourists on package tours went up to
4.6 days.
The total number of nights spent by this category of visitors also went up from
488,779 nights in 2004 to 606,076 nights in 2005 — a 24 per cent rise.
While European tourists have been making a strong comeback to the Kingdom,
arrivals from Arab and Gulf countries have increased significantly in the past
few years.
Having relied on foreign tourists for the bulk of its revenue for decades, the
industry turned to the Gulf soon after Sept. 11 to help make up for the downturn
in global travel.
The strategy helped rejuvenate the country's tourism sector during the dry
spell, and sustained a healthy traffic flow from the region even as global
tourism recovered.
The ministry's latest figures indicate that money spent by Arab tourists
accounted for 49.6 per cent of the total revenue in the first half of 2005,
compared to 31.2 per cent from foreign tourists and 19.1 per cent from
Jordanians.
Arab tourists spent a total of JD208.479 million in the country in the first six
months of this year, compared to JD131.256 million by foreign visitors and
JD80.407 million by Jordanian tourists.
Arab tourists' expenditure increased by 11.6 per cent during the comparative
period, compared to 9.7 per cent by foreigners and 10.1 per cent by Jordanians.
The number of people directly and indirectly employed by the tourism sector also
witnessed a rise.
According to the figures, the number of those directly working in the tourism
industry increased by 4.6 per cent in 2005, now standing at 24,672, while those
indirectly employed total 49,916 workers.
Although the media has been diligently following tourist arrivals to the
country, Bouran called for a more insightful examination of indicators as a
reflection of the industry's performance.
“Tourism figures of arrivals are key indicators but it is equally important to
look at other factors when considering where the industry stands today,” she
said.
“Jordan has been moving steadily upwards on all fronts — from improving,
refining and regulating its activities to ensuring a quality destination and
services for consumers,” she added.
She cited the Kingdom's National Tourism Strategy (NTS) as a key driver behind
this effort to develop a competitive tourism destination over the next six
years.
If implemented effectively, the NTS is projected to draw some 12 million
tourists a year, generating JD1.3 billion in tourism receipts and 51,000 new
jobs by the year 2010.
The NTS looks to elements such as effective marketing, enhancing product
development and competitiveness, developing human resource and improving the
institutional and regulatory framework to reach that end.
A special tourism committee at the ministry has been monitoring and following up
implementation of this over the past year.