AMMAN — Income from tourism and the number of
sightseers to the Kingdom this year exceeded the target numbers, the
minister of tourism and antiquities said, as experts in the industry forecast better
numbers in the future.
اضافة اعلان
Nayef Al-Fayez said the number of tourists reached
2.36 million in the first quarter of this year, a 90 percent increase over the
corresponding period two years ago. He said the ministry had expected 1.9
million tourists this year.
Fayez said data by the
Central Bank of Jordan showed
that tourism generated JD1.9 billion in 2021, a 90 percent increase over the
previous year, when tourism revenue dwindled to JD1 billion under COVID-19
restrictions.
In 2019, tourism
revenue recorded JD4.1 billion, according to data obtained from the ministry of
tourism.
Sulaiman Al-Farajat, chairman of Petra Development
Tourism Regional Authority, predicted more income to be generated this year.
“Based on the current indicators, tourism income
will increase this year due to the high number of tourists, especially foreigners,”
he told
Jordan News.
Awni Kawar, president of
Jordan Inbound Tour Operators Association, also said the tourism sector should anticipate a bigger
income this year. “I expect that the tourism income will see a gradual increase
especially that the tourism situation has already begun to improve.”
But Kawar insisted that the tourism income will not
reach what the level recorded in 2019 at the time being. “It is expected that
the income will reach nearly JD2 billion by the end of this year,” he said.
Tour guide Atef Al-Zeidan said the “the increase in
tourism income is expected, especially in light of the tourism boom that Jordan
has witnessed since the beginning of the year.”
“It will also reflect positively on workers in the
tourism sector, but it will take some more time,” he told
Jordan News.
“Workers in the tourism sector lived very difficult
days during the
COVID-19 pandemic, and this was also reflected on the tourist
facilities and the general tourist situation in the Kingdom,” he explained.
He called on the government to attract more tourists
to the Kingdom and “establish and develop more tourist facilities so that
tourism income continues to rise in the coming years.”
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