7,200 hotel rooms by year's end... and calls for productive investments
Petra residents: Internationalization has revitalized the city... and we look forward to a sustainable tourism movement.
اضافة اعلان
Today marks the nineteenth anniversary of Petra being crowned the second of the New Seven Wonders of the World, in a global event that the city enjoyed, with great support from His Majesty King Abdullah II, all state institutions, Jordanians and lovers of Petra everywhere, during the competition that was held in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, in which 21 global sites participated in 2007.
This title has strengthened Petra’s position on the world tourism map, making it one of the most famous ancient cities in the world, at a time when the Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority, which manages the city’s affairs, affirms its determination to continue developing Petra.
Despite the political circumstances in the region, the city continues to retain its splendor as one of the world's most prominent tourist cities.
The city received royal support and field visits that supported the reality of tourism, youth, education and community development, in addition to governmental awareness of the importance of this crowning, through the issuance of the Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority Law, as an independent body concerned with managing Petra’s affairs.
The Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the Petra Region, Engineer Adnan Al-Sawa’ir, said that this anniversary, which confirms the great global tourism importance of Petra, increases the Authority’s responsibilities towards the city, and its determination to continue the path of development and growth that befits Petra.
Al-Sawa’ir added that the Authority is continuing its global tourism partnerships in order to enhance Petra’s status, improve the tourism situation there, and attract more visitors, despite the surrounding geopolitical circumstances that affect the flow of tourists to the region.
Al-Sawa’ir emphasized that Petra has made significant progress in tourism, infrastructure, services, and community development in recent years, and that the Authority seeks to achieve more in cooperation with all official, international, and civil institutions and members of local communities.
Those interested in tourism, local affairs, and the people of the region believe that this title played a major role in introducing Petra and Jordan to millions of tourists worldwide, and in enhancing Petra’s status as one of the world’s most important tourist cities. However, the surrounding geopolitical circumstances and global crises played a major role in negatively impacting the progress of tourism in Petra.
Ma’an Governorate Council member Atef Al-Nawafleh explained that Petra had experienced positive effects in terms of tourism activity after being crowned as one of the Seven Wonders, and was poised for comprehensive development and significant improvement, were it not for the surrounding circumstances that affected the flow of tourists to the region.
Tourism expert and former MP Dr. Sami Al-Hasanat said that Petra needs more support, and support for the Petra Region Authority’s budget during periods of tourism stagnation, to enable it to achieve more development and progress, in addition to more measures and facilities to enhance attracting tourism to the city and the Kingdom.
Since being crowned as one of the New Seven Wonders, the city has witnessed progress in investment, mostly in the construction and increase of hotel rooms and the establishment of tourist facilities, amid societal demands to diversify investment.
The head of the Petra Hotels Association, Samih Al-Nawafleh, confirms that there is progress in investment, but most of it is in the tourism and hotel sector, and the number of hotel rooms in the city will reach about 7,200 by the end of this year.
Al-Nawafleh calls for the need to encourage quality investment in the tourism sector, which seeks to provide a new product and contributes to attracting tourists to the region, in addition to focusing on providing the requirements of local and Arab tourism.
Khaled Al-Mashaaleh calls for the importance of investing in other sectors instead of relying on tourism, which is always affected by the surrounding regional conditions, with the aim of providing better living and working opportunities for the population.
Al-Masha’leh suggests the importance of focusing on investment in the agricultural and industrial sectors to provide job opportunities for the population, given that the tourism sector remains unstable due to its constant exposure to political conditions and global crises.
The Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority offers investment incentives and advantages similar to those offered in industrial zones, and it recently announced its intention to establish a city for handicraft industries, with the aim of diversifying the productive sectors in the district.
Over the past years, the Pink City has witnessed development in infrastructure, services and tourism, and the establishment of many major projects, such as the development of the Wadi Musa city center, the alternative arterial road, the establishment of the Petra Museum and the development of the Visitors Center, and the establishment of the Nabataean Cultural Village, in addition to the rehabilitation of a large number of roads and the development of services in various areas.
Former Ma’an Governorate Council member Ismail Al-Sa’idat says that the infrastructure and services in the region have witnessed significant development, and could have witnessed even better development if the Petra Region Authority had financial allocations, whose budget is linked to the state of tourism activity.
Al-Sa’idat calls for the need to provide support to the Authority’s budget during periods of tourist stagnation, to enable it to establish more projects and develop the infrastructure and services in various areas of the district.
Citizen Abdullah Al-Sa’idat calls for more attention to be paid to the infrastructure and services in all population centers of the district.
The Director of Public Works in the Petra region, Dr. Muhammad Al-Qaraleh, revealed that the authority is about to issue several major tenders in order to advance the infrastructure and services in the city.
During the voting phase for Petra more than 19 years ago, travel and tourism agent Eid Al-Nawafleh and the people of the Petra district dedicated their time and efforts to voting for Petra and calling on the world to vote for it, because it deserves, with its rare urban heritage and the uniqueness of its archaeological landmarks, to be one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
Al-Nawafleh explains that this crowning and tourism in general has had a positive impact on the people of the region, in terms of education, openness to the world and its cultures, and the establishment of various pioneering projects in the fields of tourism.
Al-Nawafleh affirms that the people of Petra aspire to more support for their city, and to measures and decisions that stimulate tourism in it more and more, and to establish more projects such as a conference center, and to encourage investment and promote investment opportunities in it, in order to revive Petra, and provide job opportunities and sustainable living for its people.
Amal Al-Badoul, from the town of Umm Sayhoun near the ruins of Petra, says: “We voted for the city 19 years ago and dedicated our time and effort to Petra, and we will remain so, and we will always stand with our city, the cultural gateway to a nation led by a Hashemite king who has never hesitated to stand by the city and support it.”
Like other residents of the Petra district, Amal aspires to a sustainable tourism movement, better services, diversified investment, and a city teeming with tourists from all over the world.
