AMMAN — Despite Jordan's moderate economic
development, the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted on Wednesday that
Israel’s war on Gaza will reduce
incoming tourist and consumer expenditure.
اضافة اعلان
According to a report released by the IMF,
Jordan's economic growth for 2023 and 2024 is likely to decrease to around 2.6
percent in both years, compared to previous predictions that reached 3 percent
growth in 2024, Al-Mamlaka TV reported.
The negative consequences of the war in the
region were not limited to tourism-related businesses; projections also include
a drop in investment and a slowdown in regional demand. As a result, the
current account deficit is likely to fall to 6.3 percent of
GDP, lower than
previously anticipated, owing mostly to a decrease in travel receipts and an
increase in energy imports.
"Although hotel and airline booking
indicators in the region returned to 2019 levels before the war began in
November, occupancy rates after the war began have sharply deteriorated in
Lebanon and Jordan compared to the same period last year," the IMF said.
Hotel occupancy rates fell by around 32
percent in the first week of December 2023 compared to the same week in 2022,
and by roughly 10 percent in the second week compared to the same month in
2022.
Furthermore, using
Smith Travel Research (STR)
data, the IMF report praised the agreement reached with Jordan following
discussions that began in mid-2023, where approval was given for a new
agreement for the
Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program for four years in
January 2024, resulting in $1.2 billion in availability.
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