Jordan Times
Monday, November 14, 2005
Leading tourism
organisations switch conferences to Amman in show of support
Revenues generated by tourism in the first half of this year
reached JD420.1 million, compared to JD379.5 million in the same period of 2004
By Dalya Dajani
AMMAN — Two of the world's leading tourism and travel organisations plan to
relocate their conferences to Amman in a unified show of support for the Kingdom
following Wednesday's triple suicide attacks, an official said Sunday.
Minister of Tourism Alia Hattough-Bouran said the World Tourism Organisation (WTO)
and the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) plan to shift the two
conferences, originally slated to take place in Europe, to the capital early
next year.
“These organisations have shown tremendous support and confidence in our
industry by rerouting the venues of their upcoming conferences to the Kingdom,”
Bouran told The Jordan Times yesterday.
According to Bouran, the WTTC will be relocating its executive council's
upcoming meeting in Italy on April 28 to the capital.
The WTO will also be shifting a major conference on sustainable development and
tourism from Spain to Jordan in March.
The WTO, a leading global entity supporting tourism worldwide, condemned the
terrorist attacks on three of the capital's hotels last Wednesday and emphasised
its full support for the government.
In a letter to Bouran, WTO Secretary General Francesco Frangialli expressed his
sympathy to the victims and the government and promised the minister any
assistance the country may need in “assessing the situation or support that
could help Jordan recover from this tragic incident.”
WTO Regional Representative for the Middle East Amr Abdel Ghaffar also expressed
his support to the Kingdom's tourism sector, adding that Jordan had a positive
track record in recovering rapidly from instabilities.
Observers in the industry have said they do not expect the attacks to have a
substantial impact on the tourism industry.
Hospitality officials and travel agents have reported minimal changes in the
travel plans of visitors since the attacks.
Five ships carrying 1,600 European and American tourists are scheduled to dock
in Aqaba beginning this month until the end of November.
Another three ships carrying 1,000 visitors are also scheduled to arrive in the
Port of Aqaba in December.
Bouran said the greatest morale booster came after two cruise ships, the
Discovery and the Silver Shadow, maintained their plans to dock in Aqaba with
nearly 1,000 visitors the day after the attacks.
The minister said she was confident that tourism would continue to grow.
According to the latest official figures, tourism arrivals rose by 9.5 per cent
in the first six months of this year, reaching 2.367 million visitors compared
to 2.162 million visitors during the same period last year.
Revenues generated by tourism in the first half of this year reached JD420.1
million, compared to JD379.5 in the same period of 2004.
The Kingdom will be intensifying its tourism promotional efforts over the coming
weeks to ensure the sector continues to build on its accomplishments.
Plans include setting up more press trips for the international media to the
Kingdom and ongoing participation in major trade and travel exhibitions around
the world.
Bouran said her ministry is making all the necessary arrangements for an
initiative that entails allocating empty seats on flights from Barcelona and
Italy to travel writers and journalists specialised in tourism.
WTTC President Jean-Claude Baumgarten also condemned the terrorist attacks on
Jordan in a press announcement in London on Saturday, adding that the council
would provide the country with any assistance to come to terms with this
tragedy.
“Our hearts go out to all Jordanians at this difficult time. It goes without
saying that we fully condemn this attack which was not an attack on travel and
tourism but an attack on humanity itself — as shown by the fact that a wedding
was targeted,” said Baumgarten.
“I call upon all sectors of the travel and tourism industry, both globally and
in Jordan, to come together and work to ensure that the significant economic and
social benefits of our industry in Jordan are sustained,” he added.