AMMAN — The
Legislation and Opinion Bureau (LOB) said the
Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority (PDTRA) will ask the prime
minister for permission to use government vehicles for paid transportation of
tourists within the boundaries of Petra reserve.
اضافة اعلان
PDTRA Chief
Commissioner Suleiman Al-Farajat said that the recommendation was in response
to a PDTRA request to “solve the problem of transportation within the vast area
of Petra reserve”.
“When the authority
organizes transportation, this makes it safer, more efficient for visitors, and
eliminates any possibility of overpricing,” Farajat told
Jordan News.
He said that the
fees, which the LOB determined as JD5, will be used for maintenance, and to
support the local community in Petra.
He noted that such
a project will “create job opportunities for the locals, since the vehicles
will be operated through agreements with local associations.”
He explained that
solving the problem of transportation in Petra does not mean that all problems
have been solved. “There are far more serious problems, and we are working to
solve them, but finding a solution to the transportation issue will help,” he
added.
He stressed that
the tourism revival does not depend on one side only, “but rather depends on
the government, the private sector and local communities”.
“Our responsibility
as a governmental body is to issue decisions, which will benefit the site, the
tourists, and the local community,” he said.
But Hani Masadeh,
the head of the
Tourist Guides Association, told
Jordan News that a
legal opinion “does not highlight the real problems in Petra”.
He said that the
PDTRA should organize the site, describing it as “a mess”, stressing that the
prime minister should step in to “save Petra”.
In the same vein,
the LOB also issued an opinion, prohibiting the sale, rent, or investment of
land within the boundaries of the PDTRA to Jordanians and non-Jordanians.
The opinion is
based on a law, passed six years ago, however it imposes further restrictions,
preventing the sale or rent of land in Petra, even to Jordanians.
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