Jordan Times
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Queen promotes Middle East as
attractive tourist destination
AMMAN (JT) - Her Majesty Queen Rania on Tuesday promoted the Middle East as an
attractive travel option for prospective tourists in her keynote address at the
second annual Condé Nast World Savers Congress in New York.
Addressing an audience of hundreds of CEOs and travel industry leaders, Queen
Rania highlighted many of the unique experiences that travellers can explore in
the region, from the “Desert Islands” eco-project in Abu Dhabi, to the sea life
attractions in Oman, and the environment-friendly accommodations throughout
Egypt.
She also promoted her home country of Jordan as an über-tourist friendly
destination.
“With our bedouin roots, Jordanians are famed for friendliness and generosity;
in fact, hospitality is the highest bedouin virtue there is,” she said.
“If you’re looking for a place to relax, the Dead Sea will make you feel more
alive than ever,” she said. “It’s the lowest point on earth, with the highest
oxygen content in the world… and is home to the region’s biggest spa.”
“If you want adventure, you can abseil down waterfalls, paraglide off sandstone
crags, navigate Red Sea reefs, then cook supper deep in the desert sands of Wadi
Rum,” she continued.
“If you’re a history buff, we’ve got Roman ruins and desert castles from the
Umayyad times to explore, and our famous Nabataean city of Petra, carved out of
red stone cliffs - where Indiana Jones’ escapades ended when he found the Holy
Grail.”
Queen Rania also spoke with much pride of “the award-winning sustainable tourism
and eco-tourism projects, which are helping us to both protect and promote the
things that are most precious to us”, before announcing the establishment of
nine more unique parks and woodland areas across Jordan.
“From Yarmouk in the north to the southern mountains of Aqaba, these parks will
create wildlife corridors and sanctuaries for endangered plants. They’ll be
looked after by local communities, who know the landscape better than anyone,
and will offer visitors unique cultural experiences,” she said.
Tourism is one of the largest sectors in Jordan’s economy, and apparently the
world. Condé Nast Travel estimates that this year worldwide travel will generate
$8 trillion in revenue. While the Middle East recorded the largest percentage
increase in visitors in the world last year, the Queen did her utmost to promote
the region even further.
“As we develop our tourism sector, we want to transform Jordan from ‘a place to
visit’ into ‘a place to experience’ where tourists stay longer, discover the
out-of-the-way places that locals know and love, eat in the cafés where
Jordanian families spend a Saturday afternoon, chat with village shopkeepers
over some sweet mint tea, and discover our greatest natural asset of all: The
warmth and hospitality of our people.”
Citing country branding expert Rina Papler, who suggested that “an overarching
travel trend this year is the idea of ‘paradox and distinction’,” the Queen said
the qualities of “contrast, contradictions, surprises, unique experiences, and
adventures… are qualities that the Middle East can offer in abundance”.
The congress aims to inspire business leaders from the tourism industry to step
up their efforts in working with communities, fighting poverty, improving global
employment practices, solving environmental issues and engaging consumers to
make a difference.
Condé Nast’s 2008 World Savers Awards honours travel companies from around the
world for their leadership in social responsibility in these key areas.
Recognising the effect such practices have on travellers, the Queen cited a
recent Trip Adviser survey which found that 40 per cent of respondents consider
environment-friendly tourism when making travel plans; 34 per cent said they
would pay more to stay in an environment-friendly hotel; and 38 per cent said
they have stayed in one.
Meanwhile on Monday, Queen Rania met with key UNICEF staff members in New York,
including Executive Director Anne Veneman.
During the meeting Queen Rania, who was appointed as UNICEF’s first Eminent
Advocate for Children last year, was briefed on the organisation’s latest
findings on global education and health and explored ways to help promote
UNICEF’s mandate further.